Eye contact and gazeA B C D E F G H IJKL M N O P R S T U VXYZWof Human Interaction (McGraw-Hill, 1972) ‘that
a whole vocabulary is necessary to distinguish
among the ways people look at each other.’ We
stare, glower, peep, pierce, glance, watch, gaze
and scan; and we do it directly or indirectly,
provocatively or furtively, confidently or
nervously. Eye contact and gaze play an impor-
tant role in the regulation of social interaction.
Gaining eye contact is usually the fi rst step in
starting a social encounter, just as decreasing
eye contact is typically one of the signs that
an encounter is ending – although increased
eye contact is often given as the encounter is
actually concluded. During a conversation the
listener usually indicates attention by frequent
eye contact with the speaker. The speaker,
however, looks less often at the listener but does
use eye contact to check for feedback. Lack of
eye contact on the part of the listener will often
be read as a sign of lack of interest in what the
speaker is saying. Listeners can therefore use lack
of eye contact to make a speaker feel uncomfort-
able and to close a conversation down.
The smooth handing-over between speaker
and listener within a conversation also involves
the appropriate use of eye contact, according
to Judy Gahagan in Social Interaction and its
Mangement (Methuen, 1984). Michael Argyle
notes in Bodily Communication (Methuen, 1988)
that participants in a conversation tend to use
more eye contact if placed further apart than if
closer together. Th e topic of a conversation can
also infl uence the use of eye contact: typically
less eye contact is used if the topic is diffi cult.
People also display less eye contact if they are sad
or embarrassed. Th ose attempting to persuade
may be more successful if they use increased eye
contact.
Argyle argues that the nature of relationships
can also be revealed in the use of eye contact.
Prolonged looking is typically a sign of a close
or intimate relationship but it can also be a sign
of aggression and used to threaten or intimidate- for this reason we may be uncomfortable
with prolonged gazes from those with whom
we are not intimate. Factors of psychological
dominance and submission are refl ected in the
extent and nature of eye contact. A single glance
may be all that is required for an individual to
assert him/herself over others, to take initiative
or leadership, whereas gaze aversion can be a
sign of submission.
Cross-cultural diff erences exist as regards the
degree of eye contact or gaze regarded as normal
in social encounters. Roger E. Axel in Gestures:
Th e Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around
direct experience against which to test the valid-
ity of the media’s presentation.
The matter of concern here is that in such
cases, individuals are more than usually vulner-
able to propaganda. Also of interest is the
role of the media in creating stereotypes by
engendering a set of expectations and beliefs
about particular individuals, social groups or
social situations.
Experimental group A research term for
the group within an experiment to whom the
experimental treatment is applied (for example,
the group may be asked to conform to a particu-
larly rigorous procedure of communication
whilst performing a set task). Th e results from
this group are then compared to those from
a comparable control group which was not
subjected to the experimental treatment. Th e
control group provides the base-line against
which the eff ectiveness of the treatment can be
judged. Changes that take place in the behaviour
of the experimental group but not the control
group are likely to be seen as resulting from the
treatment. See topic guide under research
methods.
Extracted information Youichi Ito, then Profes-
sor of Political and International Research at
the University of Keio, Tokyo, in ‘Climate of
opinion, kuuki, and democracy’ in William
Gudykunst, ed., Communications Yearbook, No.
26 (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2002) used this term
to describe that which the public draws from
sources other than the mass media, for example
from personal experience and observation, and
talking to others.
The more people talk to each other, argues
Ito, the less dependent they are on the mass
media. Conversely, the less they talk among
themselves, the more media agendas dominate
the public’s way of thinking and perceiving. ‘If
people depend heavily upon mass media for
information,’ writes Ito, ‘and if personal infl u-
ence in political communication is weak, then
the political influence of mass media may be
overwhelming.’ See kuuki.
Extrapersonal communication That which
takes place without human involvement:
machine-to-machine communication, for
example; a major growth industry of communi-
cations with the coming of computers, increased
automation and the development of robotics.
Eye contact and gaze Perhaps the most subtle
and signifi cant feature of non-verbal communi-
cation (see communication, non-verbal).
‘So complex is mutual eye contact,’ notes C.
David Mortensen in Communication: Th e Study