Examining cognitive load in human-machine collaborative translation: insights from eye-tracking experiments of Chinese-English translation

With the development of artificial intelligence and computer science, human-computer collaborative translation (HMCT) mode has gradually become a research hotspot in the field of English translation. The purpose of this study was to explore the cognitive load characteristics of translators in the pr...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in psychology Vol. 16; p. 1570929
Main Author: Chen, Lei
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 2025
Subjects:
ISSN:1664-1078, 1664-1078
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Abstract With the development of artificial intelligence and computer science, human-computer collaborative translation (HMCT) mode has gradually become a research hotspot in the field of English translation. The purpose of this study was to explore the cognitive load characteristics of translators in the process of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking experiments of Chinese-English translation. Based on a 2 × 2 hybrid design, the participants' eye movements were analyzed under the conditions of simple, medium and complex texts through two tasks, human translation and human-computer collaborative translation. The study involved 30 master's students or translators in translation who used Tobii Pro Glasses2 to record eye tracking data in real time, focusing on fixation time, regressionness, saccade and fixation point to reveal the impact of different Chinese-English translation tasks and text types on cognitive load. The experimental results show that the fixation time, the numbers of regressions, fixations and saccades of human translation are significantly higher than those of human-computer collaborative translation, especially in complex text tasks. At the same time, the numbers of regressions and fixation time increased significantly with the increase of task complexity in both groups, and the human translation group showed a higher cognitive load in complex tasks. This study finds that the cognitive load of translators in the process of human-machine collaborative translation shows phased changes, especially when the output quality of machine translation is poor, translators need more cognitive resources to correct. The impact of complex tasks on cognitive load is even more significant, and human translation requires more cognitive effort on the part of translators. Eye tracking data analysis provides empirical support for understanding the cognitive mechanisms in the translation process. For the first time, this study systematically explored the cognitive load characteristics of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking technology, filling the research gap in this field in the existing literature. The results of this study not only provide a theoretical basis for optimizing translation tools and designing more efficient translation processes, but also provide a new perspective for cognitive load management in translation teaching and practice.
AbstractList With the development of artificial intelligence and computer science, human-computer collaborative translation (HMCT) mode has gradually become a research hotspot in the field of English translation. The purpose of this study was to explore the cognitive load characteristics of translators in the process of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking experiments of Chinese-English translation. Based on a 2 × 2 hybrid design, the participants' eye movements were analyzed under the conditions of simple, medium and complex texts through two tasks, human translation and human-computer collaborative translation.IntroductionWith the development of artificial intelligence and computer science, human-computer collaborative translation (HMCT) mode has gradually become a research hotspot in the field of English translation. The purpose of this study was to explore the cognitive load characteristics of translators in the process of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking experiments of Chinese-English translation. Based on a 2 × 2 hybrid design, the participants' eye movements were analyzed under the conditions of simple, medium and complex texts through two tasks, human translation and human-computer collaborative translation.The study involved 30 master's students or translators in translation who used Tobii Pro Glasses2 to record eye tracking data in real time, focusing on fixation time, regressionness, saccade and fixation point to reveal the impact of different Chinese-English translation tasks and text types on cognitive load.MethodsThe study involved 30 master's students or translators in translation who used Tobii Pro Glasses2 to record eye tracking data in real time, focusing on fixation time, regressionness, saccade and fixation point to reveal the impact of different Chinese-English translation tasks and text types on cognitive load.The experimental results show that the fixation time, the numbers of regressions, fixations and saccades of human translation are significantly higher than those of human-computer collaborative translation, especially in complex text tasks. At the same time, the numbers of regressions and fixation time increased significantly with the increase of task complexity in both groups, and the human translation group showed a higher cognitive load in complex tasks.ResultsThe experimental results show that the fixation time, the numbers of regressions, fixations and saccades of human translation are significantly higher than those of human-computer collaborative translation, especially in complex text tasks. At the same time, the numbers of regressions and fixation time increased significantly with the increase of task complexity in both groups, and the human translation group showed a higher cognitive load in complex tasks.This study finds that the cognitive load of translators in the process of human-machine collaborative translation shows phased changes, especially when the output quality of machine translation is poor, translators need more cognitive resources to correct. The impact of complex tasks on cognitive load is even more significant, and human translation requires more cognitive effort on the part of translators. Eye tracking data analysis provides empirical support for understanding the cognitive mechanisms in the translation process. For the first time, this study systematically explored the cognitive load characteristics of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking technology, filling the research gap in this field in the existing literature. The results of this study not only provide a theoretical basis for optimizing translation tools and designing more efficient translation processes, but also provide a new perspective for cognitive load management in translation teaching and practice.DiscussionThis study finds that the cognitive load of translators in the process of human-machine collaborative translation shows phased changes, especially when the output quality of machine translation is poor, translators need more cognitive resources to correct. The impact of complex tasks on cognitive load is even more significant, and human translation requires more cognitive effort on the part of translators. Eye tracking data analysis provides empirical support for understanding the cognitive mechanisms in the translation process. For the first time, this study systematically explored the cognitive load characteristics of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking technology, filling the research gap in this field in the existing literature. The results of this study not only provide a theoretical basis for optimizing translation tools and designing more efficient translation processes, but also provide a new perspective for cognitive load management in translation teaching and practice.
IntroductionWith the development of artificial intelligence and computer science, human-computer collaborative translation (HMCT) mode has gradually become a research hotspot in the field of English translation. The purpose of this study was to explore the cognitive load characteristics of translators in the process of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking experiments of Chinese-English translation. Based on a 2 × 2 hybrid design, the participants’ eye movements were analyzed under the conditions of simple, medium and complex texts through two tasks, human translation and human-computer collaborative translation.MethodsThe study involved 30 master’s students or translators in translation who used Tobii Pro Glasses2 to record eye tracking data in real time, focusing on fixation time, regressionness, saccade and fixation point to reveal the impact of different Chinese-English translation tasks and text types on cognitive load.ResultsThe experimental results show that the fixation time, the numbers of regressions, fixations and saccades of human translation are significantly higher than those of human-computer collaborative translation, especially in complex text tasks. At the same time, the numbers of regressions and fixation time increased significantly with the increase of task complexity in both groups, and the human translation group showed a higher cognitive load in complex tasks.DiscussionThis study finds that the cognitive load of translators in the process of human-machine collaborative translation shows phased changes, especially when the output quality of machine translation is poor, translators need more cognitive resources to correct. The impact of complex tasks on cognitive load is even more significant, and human translation requires more cognitive effort on the part of translators. Eye tracking data analysis provides empirical support for understanding the cognitive mechanisms in the translation process. For the first time, this study systematically explored the cognitive load characteristics of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking technology, filling the research gap in this field in the existing literature. The results of this study not only provide a theoretical basis for optimizing translation tools and designing more efficient translation processes, but also provide a new perspective for cognitive load management in translation teaching and practice.
With the development of artificial intelligence and computer science, human-computer collaborative translation (HMCT) mode has gradually become a research hotspot in the field of English translation. The purpose of this study was to explore the cognitive load characteristics of translators in the process of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking experiments of Chinese-English translation. Based on a 2 × 2 hybrid design, the participants' eye movements were analyzed under the conditions of simple, medium and complex texts through two tasks, human translation and human-computer collaborative translation. The study involved 30 master's students or translators in translation who used Tobii Pro Glasses2 to record eye tracking data in real time, focusing on fixation time, regressionness, saccade and fixation point to reveal the impact of different Chinese-English translation tasks and text types on cognitive load. The experimental results show that the fixation time, the numbers of regressions, fixations and saccades of human translation are significantly higher than those of human-computer collaborative translation, especially in complex text tasks. At the same time, the numbers of regressions and fixation time increased significantly with the increase of task complexity in both groups, and the human translation group showed a higher cognitive load in complex tasks. This study finds that the cognitive load of translators in the process of human-machine collaborative translation shows phased changes, especially when the output quality of machine translation is poor, translators need more cognitive resources to correct. The impact of complex tasks on cognitive load is even more significant, and human translation requires more cognitive effort on the part of translators. Eye tracking data analysis provides empirical support for understanding the cognitive mechanisms in the translation process. For the first time, this study systematically explored the cognitive load characteristics of human-computer collaborative translation through eye tracking technology, filling the research gap in this field in the existing literature. The results of this study not only provide a theoretical basis for optimizing translation tools and designing more efficient translation processes, but also provide a new perspective for cognitive load management in translation teaching and practice.
Author Chen, Lei
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: Lei
  surname: Chen
  fullname: Chen, Lei
BackLink https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41323918$$D View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed
BookMark eNpNkctu3CAUhq0qVXNpXqCLystuPOUAtqG7ajRtI0Xqpl0jwAcPqQ1TmKkyr5CnLnNJFDYc8X_6QPzX1UWIAavqA5AFY0J-dpu8HxeU0HYBbU8klW-qK-g63gDpxcWr-bK6zfmBlMUJJYS-qy45MMokiKvqafWoZx98GGsbx-C3_h_WU9RD7UO93s06NLO2ax-w5NOkTUz6yGyTDnkqcwxfCpv9uN7m2qU417jHpsT2z8GKjxtMfsZQ0ujq5UGVsVmFcfJ5_Vrzvnrr9JTx9rzfVL-_rX4tfzT3P7_fLb_eN5YSKRsrAQgHSh1yyqgAYq1jghEYxCCZMEQKi7w1PXJoiXGOCt11TiNC6xiwm-ru5B2iflCb8jid9ipqr44HMY1Kp623E6reGnAdApUUOGgw2qAQxvSCEJB0KK5PJ9cmxb87zFs1-2yxfFTAuMuK0b5vKee8K-jHM7ozMw4vFz93UQB6AmyKOSd0LwgQdehcHTtXh87VuXP2Hy1AobE
Cites_doi 10.18653/v1/2024.wmt-1.110
10.1186/s12864-024-10446-4
10.1075/forum.22009.wan
10.1007/s11063-023-11208-1
10.1007/s11571-023-09993-5
10.5007/2175-7968.2024.e95214
10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4
10.1162/coli_a_00496
10.1007/978-981-97-4243-1_16
10.3389/feduc.2025.1616935
10.1016/j.linged.2024.101290
10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1076379
10.1145/3576840.3578292
10.1007/978-3-031-73830-2_8
10.3233/JCM-226846
10.1075/intp.00104.che
10.1007/s10639-023-12046-3
10.3389/fnhum.2024.1356680
10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1196910
ContentType Journal Article
Copyright Copyright © 2025 Chen.
Copyright_xml – notice: Copyright © 2025 Chen.
DBID AAYXX
CITATION
NPM
7X8
DOA
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1570929
DatabaseName CrossRef
PubMed
MEDLINE - Academic
DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
DatabaseTitle CrossRef
PubMed
MEDLINE - Academic
DatabaseTitleList MEDLINE - Academic

PubMed
Database_xml – sequence: 1
  dbid: DOA
  name: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  url: https://www.doaj.org/
  sourceTypes: Open Website
– sequence: 2
  dbid: NPM
  name: PubMed
  url: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
  sourceTypes: Index Database
– sequence: 3
  dbid: 7X8
  name: MEDLINE - Academic
  url: https://search.proquest.com/medline
  sourceTypes: Aggregation Database
DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline Psychology
EISSN 1664-1078
ExternalDocumentID oai_doaj_org_article_7cb1f6e1292141a1babe88bb7800192d
41323918
10_3389_fpsyg_2025_1570929
Genre Journal Article
GroupedDBID 53G
5VS
9T4
AAFWJ
AAKDD
AAYXX
ABIVO
ACGFO
ACGFS
ACHQT
ADBBV
ADRAZ
AEGXH
AFPKN
AIAGR
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
AOIJS
BAWUL
BCNDV
CITATION
DIK
EBS
EJD
EMOBN
F5P
GROUPED_DOAJ
GX1
HYE
KQ8
M~E
O5R
O5S
OK1
P2P
PGMZT
RNS
RPM
IPNFZ
M48
NPM
RIG
7X8
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-c2099-c91104122fe4232810ccf38301d8d938b098ce45b7e4150bff28a66faee15f313
IEDL.DBID DOA
ISSN 1664-1078
IngestDate Mon Nov 17 19:31:17 EST 2025
Mon Dec 01 18:21:24 EST 2025
Tue Dec 02 01:40:46 EST 2025
Thu Nov 20 00:35:59 EST 2025
IsDoiOpenAccess true
IsOpenAccess true
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Keywords data fitting
eye tracking experiments
cognitive load
human-computer translation
rank sum test
Language English
License Copyright © 2025 Chen.
LinkModel DirectLink
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c2099-c91104122fe4232810ccf38301d8d938b098ce45b7e4150bff28a66faee15f313
Notes ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
OpenAccessLink https://doaj.org/article/7cb1f6e1292141a1babe88bb7800192d
PMID 41323918
PQID 3277524446
PQPubID 23479
ParticipantIDs doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_7cb1f6e1292141a1babe88bb7800192d
proquest_miscellaneous_3277524446
pubmed_primary_41323918
crossref_primary_10_3389_fpsyg_2025_1570929
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2025-00-00
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2025-01-01
PublicationDate_xml – year: 2025
  text: 2025-00-00
PublicationDecade 2020
PublicationPlace Switzerland
PublicationPlace_xml – name: Switzerland
PublicationTitle Frontiers in psychology
PublicationTitleAlternate Front Psychol
PublicationYear 2025
Publisher Frontiers Media S.A
Publisher_xml – name: Frontiers Media S.A
References Fredrick (B6) 2025; 10
Wang (B17) 2024; 25
Chang (B3) 2023; 14
Baumgarten (B2) 2024
Liu (B9) 2024
Tekwa (B16) 2023; 29
Wang (B18) 2023; 21
Sweller (B15) 1988; 12
Ge (B7) 2023; 23
Pang (B14) 2024; 50
Chen (B4) 2024; 26
Kasper (B8) 2023; 14
Wohltjen (B19) 2024; 18
Musk (B12) 2024; 80
Odusami (B13) 2024; 18
Mahsuli (B11) 2023; 55
Cui (B5) 2024
Mahanama (B10) 2023
Bacquelaine (B1) 2024; 44
References_xml – start-page: 1095
  volume-title: Proceedings of the Ninth Conference on Machine Translation
  year: 2024
  ident: B9
  article-title: Beyond human-only: Evaluating human-machine collaboration for collecting high-quality translation data
  doi: 10.18653/v1/2024.wmt-1.110
– volume: 25
  start-page: 573
  year: 2024
  ident: B17
  article-title: Nmthc: A hybrid error correction method based on a generative neural machine translation model with transfer learning.
  publication-title: BMC Genomics
  doi: 10.1186/s12864-024-10446-4
– volume: 21
  start-page: 139
  year: 2023
  ident: B18
  article-title: Cognitive effort in human translation and machine translation post-editing processes.
  publication-title: Int. J. Interpretation Transl.
  doi: 10.1075/forum.22009.wan
– volume: 55
  start-page: 9435
  year: 2023
  ident: B11
  article-title: Lenm: Improving low-resource neural machine translation using target length modeling.
  publication-title: Neural Process. Lett.
  doi: 10.1007/s11063-023-11208-1
– volume: 18
  start-page: 775
  year: 2024
  ident: B13
  article-title: Machine learning with multimodal neuroimaging data to classify stages of alzheimer’s disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
  publication-title: Cogn. Neurodyn.
  doi: 10.1007/s11571-023-09993-5
– volume: 44
  start-page: e95214
  year: 2024
  ident: B1
  article-title: Translating Ulyssei@s: Work in progress between general and specialised translation in light of NMT.
  publication-title: Cad. Trad.
  doi: 10.5007/2175-7968.2024.e95214
– volume: 12
  start-page: 257
  year: 1988
  ident: B15
  article-title: Cognitive load during problem solving: effects on learning
  publication-title: Cogn. Sci.
  doi: 10.1207/s15516709cog1202_4
– volume: 50
  start-page: 25
  year: 2024
  ident: B14
  article-title: Rethinking the exploitation of monolingual data for low-resource neural machine translation.
  publication-title: Comput. Linguist.
  doi: 10.1162/coli_a_00496
– start-page: 207
  volume-title: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Emerging Technologies for Education
  year: 2024
  ident: B5
  article-title: Reliability of effort indicators for human translation and post-editing of machine translation: An eye tracking and keylogging study involving student translators
  doi: 10.1007/978-981-97-4243-1_16
– volume: 10
  start-page: 1616935
  year: 2025
  ident: B6
  article-title: Lexical diversity, syntactic complexity, and readability: A corpus-based analysis of ChatGPT and L2 student essays
  publication-title: Front. Educ.
  doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1616935
– volume: 80
  start-page: 101290
  year: 2024
  ident: B12
  article-title: Critical interactional strategies for selecting candidate translations in online translation tools in collaborative efl writing tasks.
  publication-title: Linguist. Educ.
  doi: 10.1016/j.linged.2024.101290
– volume: 14
  start-page: 1076379
  year: 2023
  ident: B8
  article-title: Is machine translation a dim technology for its users? An eye tracking study.
  publication-title: Front. Psychol.
  doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1076379
– start-page: 427
  volume-title: Proceedings of the 2023 Conference on Human Information Interaction and Retrieval
  year: 2023
  ident: B10
  article-title: Disetrac: Distributed eye-tracking for online collaboration
  doi: 10.1145/3576840.3578292
– start-page: 169
  volume-title: Book: Translation and neoliberalism
  year: 2024
  ident: B2
  article-title: Welcome to the translation machine! translation labour in times of techno-triumphalism
  doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-73830-2_8
– volume: 23
  start-page: 1
  year: 2023
  ident: B7
  article-title: Hand-eye calibration method and machine vision research based on sensor network.
  publication-title: J. Comput. Methods Sci. Eng.
  doi: 10.3233/JCM-226846
– volume: 26
  start-page: 231
  year: 2024
  ident: B4
  article-title: Visual processing during computer-assisted consecutive interpreting: Evidence from eye movements.
  publication-title: Interpreting
  doi: 10.1075/intp.00104.che
– volume: 29
  start-page: 6443
  year: 2023
  ident: B16
  article-title: Process-oriented collaborative translation within the training environment: Comparing team and individual trainee performances using a video-ethnography approach.
  publication-title: Educ. Inf. Technol.
  doi: 10.1007/s10639-023-12046-3
– volume: 18
  start-page: 1356680
  year: 2024
  ident: B19
  article-title: Interpersonal eye-tracking reveals the dynamics of interacting minds.
  publication-title: Front. Hum. Neurosci.
  doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1356680
– volume: 14
  start-page: 1196910
  year: 2023
  ident: B3
  article-title: Translation directionality and the inhibitory control model: A machine learning approach to an eye-tracking study.
  publication-title: Front. Psychol.
  doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1196910
SSID ssj0000402002
Score 2.392364
Snippet With the development of artificial intelligence and computer science, human-computer collaborative translation (HMCT) mode has gradually become a research...
IntroductionWith the development of artificial intelligence and computer science, human-computer collaborative translation (HMCT) mode has gradually become a...
SourceID doaj
proquest
pubmed
crossref
SourceType Open Website
Aggregation Database
Index Database
StartPage 1570929
SubjectTerms cognitive load
data fitting
eye tracking experiments
human-computer translation
rank sum test
Title Examining cognitive load in human-machine collaborative translation: insights from eye-tracking experiments of Chinese-English translation
URI https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/41323918
https://www.proquest.com/docview/3277524446
https://doaj.org/article/7cb1f6e1292141a1babe88bb7800192d
Volume 16
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
journalDatabaseRights – providerCode: PRVAON
  databaseName: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  customDbUrl:
  eissn: 1664-1078
  dateEnd: 99991231
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssj0000402002
  issn: 1664-1078
  databaseCode: DOA
  dateStart: 20100101
  isFulltext: true
  titleUrlDefault: https://www.doaj.org/
  providerName: Directory of Open Access Journals
– providerCode: PRVHPJ
  databaseName: ROAD: Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources
  customDbUrl:
  eissn: 1664-1078
  dateEnd: 99991231
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssj0000402002
  issn: 1664-1078
  databaseCode: M~E
  dateStart: 20100101
  isFulltext: true
  titleUrlDefault: https://road.issn.org
  providerName: ISSN International Centre
link http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwrV1LT9wwELYo4sClaqGPpS0yErcqJY6T2O6tRYt6AMShrfZm-TGukEoWkaXqXvoD-NWdccKyF9RLLzkkTuL4c2a-sefB2GELzkuTqiLVMVJITlOYIAMSOW2crJN3OU_391N1fq5nM3OxVuqLfMKG9MDDwB2p4EVqAdVSJWrhhHcetPZe6cxOIklfZD1rxlSWwWQWkesORcmgFWaO0nW__IH2YNV8EI0qTeaUD5ooJ-x_nGVmbXPyjD0daSL_NHTvOduAbodtr6TVcpfdTX-7q1zdga9cgPjPuYv8suO58l5xlR0lga9hjW0WpJ0GD7iP2LYn67znFGbCYQkFXg60fM4fcv_3fJ44FdqGHoox7nf9MS_Yt5Pp1-MvxVhYoQgUKVsElHCUZ6tKQPu0WpQhJDRVSxF1NFL70ugAdeMVoH4vfUqVdm2bHIBokhTyJdvs5h28ZhwZTIopgqzwhpakgfF1ir6OziWlYMLe3w-yvR7yZ1i0OwgSmyGxBIkdIZmwz4TDqiXlvs4ncEbYcUbYf82ICTu4R9Hiv0IbIK6D-W1vZaVUg3ymbifs1QDv6lWozCtphN77H114w7bps4almrdsc3FzC-_YVvi1uOxv9tkTNdP7ecLi8ezP9C9E9PNJ
linkProvider Directory of Open Access Journals
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Examining+cognitive+load+in+human-machine+collaborative+translation%3A+insights+from+eye-tracking+experiments+of+Chinese-English+translation&rft.jtitle=Frontiers+in+psychology&rft.au=Chen%2C+Lei&rft.date=2025&rft.issn=1664-1078&rft.eissn=1664-1078&rft.volume=16&rft_id=info:doi/10.3389%2Ffpsyg.2025.1570929&rft.externalDBID=NO_FULL_TEXT
thumbnail_l http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=1664-1078&client=summon
thumbnail_m http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=1664-1078&client=summon
thumbnail_s http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=1664-1078&client=summon