In the Eye of the Beholder
Frances S. Chen, Julia A. Minson, Maren Schöne, Markus Heinrichs
Psychological Science · 2013 · Volume 24 · Issue 11
Abstract
Popular belief holds that eye contact increases the success of persuasive communication, and prior research suggests that speakers who direct their gaze more toward their listeners are perceived as more persuasive. In contrast, we demonstrate that more eye contact between the listener and speaker during persuasive communication predicts less attitude change in the direction advocated. In Study 1, participants freely watched videos of speakers expressing various views on controversial sociopolitical issues. Greater direct gaze at the speaker’s eyes was associated with less attitude change in the direction advocated by the speaker. In Study 2, we instructed participants to look at either the eyes or the mouths of speakers presenting arguments counter to participants’ own attitudes. Intentionally maintaining direct eye contact led to less persuasion than did gazing at the mouth. These findings suggest that efforts at increasing eye contact may be counterproductive across a variety of persuasion contexts.
Keywords
conflict, attitudes, persuasion, eye contact, face processing, social interaction, eye movements, face perception
Enable JavaScript for citation tools and additional paper interactions.