Nov 18 2008
Threatening Eyes, Reassuring Eyes
Just as primates can communicate threat with their gaze, so can they reassure and invite. Frans de Waal writes,
“Another point in common with the chimpanzee is the critical role of eye contact. Among apes it is a prerequisite for reconciliation. It is as if chimpanzees do not trust the other’s intentions without a look into the eyes. In the same way, we do not consider a conflict settled with people who turn their eyes to the ceiling or to the floor each time we look in their direction.” (9)
While a hostile, penetrating stare can signal being held at a visual arm’s length by the viewer, a “warmer” variety of visual attention will signal the equivalent of an arm outstretched in acceptance. The authors of one study on the power of visual attention, “Explaining Effects of Eye Gaze on Mediated Group Conversations: Amount or Synchronization?” report,
“[S]ubjects took less turns when the amount of gaze was below normal.” (10)
More specifically,
“[P]eople are significantly more likely to speak when gaze behavior of conversational partners is synchronized through time with their conversational attention.” (11)
Yes, whether or not you are consciously aware of it, the likelihood of your speaking is influenced by the gaze of your intended audience. “Speaking up” is just one type of many behaviors I am sure can be encouraged or attenuated by visual attention, real or imagined.
At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She exclaimed, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me-a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10)
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(9) de Waal, F. Peacemaking Among Primates, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1989, p.43
(10) Vertegaal, R. & Ding, Y., “Explaining Effects of Eye Gaze on Mediated Group Conversations: Amount or Synchronization?” Proceedings of CSCW 2002 Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Work, New Orleans: ACM Press, November, 2002,
p. 42
(11) Vertegaal, R. & Ding, Y., 2002, p. 47
