Where do people first look on a computer screen? Where do they look next? It depends in part on what they do and expect. If they read in a language that moves left to right, then they tend to look at the screen from left to right. If they read from right to left, it is the opposite. However, they don't start at the highest corner.

Because people have become accustomed to the idea that there are things on computer screens that are less relevant to the task at hand, such as logos, spaces, and navigation bars, they tend to look at the center of the screen and avoid the edges.

After looking at a screen for the first time, people move through their culture's normal reading mode (left to right, right to left, top to bottom). If something catches their eye, for example, a large photo (especially one with someone's face) or movement (an animated banner or video) elsewhere on the screen, you can steer them away from this normal trending situation.

People have a mental model of what they want to see!

People have a mental model where things tend to be on computer screens, and a mental model for particular applications or websites that they use. They tend to look at a screen based on these mental models.

For example, if they shop a lot at Amazon and use the search box, they'll likely look at the search box when the screen loads.

When do people refine their vision?

If there is some unexpected error or problem in the task that people are trying to accomplish then they stop looking at other parts of the screen and focus on the problem area.

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