EYE CONTACT
Eye contact is the event when two people look at each other's eyes at the same time[1]. It is a form of nonverbal communication, and can be an intense or emotional occurrence or a soon-forgotten event. Eye contact is a large influence on social behavior, but it means dramatically different things at different times and in different situations. Eye contact is interpreted differently and occurs at greatly different frequencies across cultures and animal species. Eye aversion is the avoidance of eye contact.
Social meanings of eye contact
Eye contact and facial expressions provide important social and emotional information; people, perhaps without consciously doing so, probe each other's eyes and faces for positive or negative mood signs. In some contexts, the meeting of eyes arouses strong emotions. These include:
The effectiveness of eye contact
Physiological explanation
The size of the pupils may reveal a great deal about a person's current state. Strong emotions, convictions, and moods often stimulate the sympathetic nervous system and cause dilation of the pupils. In response to a threat or fear, this is often called the fight or flight response, and has an effect on the appearance of the eye.
The pupil may dilate if a person sees something (or someone) of interest or is aroused, thus making eye contact much more intense than it already is. Studies have shown that humans (especially females) are judged as more attractive if their pupils are wide open and more dilated than is normal.
Mother/child eye contact
Although some assert that children often respond to their mother's eyes from the moment of birth and that babies instinctively smile at black geometric spots -- perceiving them as "eyes" by six weeks of age, a 1985 study published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology suggested that "3-month-old infants are comparatively insensitive to being the object of another's visual regard" [1]. A 1996 Canadian study with 3 to 6 month old infants found that smiling in the infants decreased when adult eye contact was removed [2]. A recent British study in the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience found that face recognition by infants was facilited by direct gaze [3]. Other recent research has confirmed the belief that the direct of gaze of adults influences the direct of gaze of infants [4] [5].
Other explanations
Communicating attention A person's direction of gaze may indicate to others where his or her attention lies.
Facilitating learning Recent studies suggests that eye contact has a positive impact on the retention and recall of information and may promote more efficient learning [6][7][8].
Eye Movements are often used to compensate for increased physical distance. We can overcome psychologically the physical distance between us. We can catch someone's eye at a party. We can become psychologically closer even though a distance separates us.
Cultural differences
In Islam, Muslims must lower their gaze and try not to focus on the opposite sex's faces and eyes after the initial first eye contact, other than their legitimate partners or family members, in order to avoid potential unwanted desires (See References). Lustful glances to those of the opposite sex, young or adult, are also prohibited. This means that eye contact between any man and woman is allowed only for a second or two. This is a must in most Islamic schools, with some exceptions depending on the case, like when teaching, testifying, or looking at a girl for marriage. If allowed, it is only allowed under the general rule: "No-Desire", clean eye-contact. Otherwise, it is not allowed, and considered "adultery of the eyes."
In many cultures is is respectful not to look the dominant person in the eye, but in Western culture this can be interpreted as being "shifty-eyed", and the person judged badly because "he wouldn't look me in the eye"[9].
Misc
In adults, eye contact shows personal involvement and creates intimate bonds. Mutual gaze narrows the physical gap between humans.
People may feel uncomfortable if someone is staring at them.
Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris invented a device called the Interrotron which allowed his interview subjects to look directly into the camera while being filmed. It allows the film's viewers to maintain eye contact with the people in Morris' films, giving what some describe as a more intimate acquaintance with them.
References
- ^ "Eye contact". Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Retrieved May 14, 2006.
See also
External links
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