Eye Behavior
Page 106
The film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I (2010), finds Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione hidden away from the evil Voldemort as they attempt to complete a quest in a time of all-out war. We never doubt what the characters are feeling. We clearly see the soft eyes of love between Ron and Hermione, and we can’t miss Harry’s terrified glances as he wonders what has become of his loved ones back at Hogwarts and beyond. Oculesics is the study of the use of the eyes to communicate.
Culture and You
In what situations do you feel comfortable making eye contact? In what situations is it easy to do so? When is it difficult?
Researchers found that newborn infants (two to five days old) stared significantly longer at faces offering a direct gaze rather than an averted one. The babies also oriented themselves more often toward the face that made eye contact with them. Previous studies also confirmed that babies as young as three months old would smile less when adults averted their gaze, though the smiling returned when adults resumed eye contact (Farroni, Csibra, Simion, & Johnson, 2002).
There are some cultural variations in gaze with children. For example, European American parents gaze more at their children; this is particularly true between mothers and sons. Mexican American parents, on the other hand, spend less time making eye contact with children. In return, children gaze more directly at fathers in European American homes than in Mexican American homes (Schofield, Parke, Castañeda, & Coltrane, 2008). Perhaps children in Mexican American homes gaze less directly at fathers as a sign of respect or because of the cultural hierarchy of the family.
The human gaze remains important beyond childhood. You might make direct eye contact with a hiring manager in a job interview in the United States to make a stronger impression. And you will likely use eye behavior to send messages in more personal relationships. For example, the way you look at a friend is likely not the same way you look at your significant other and certainly not the way you look at someone you dislike immensely. Each glance can send a message of liking, loving, attraction, or contempt (see Table 5.1).
| Table 5.1 The Power of Eye Contact | |
| Function of Eye Contact | Example |
| Influences attitude change | Looking at someone to get the person to trust you or comply with your wishes |
| Indicates a degree of arousal | Glancing across a crowded room to signal attraction or interest; looking at a customer attentively in the interest of receiving positive evaluations—and sales (Ford, 1999) |
| Expresses emotion | Soft eyes of loving looks; frightened eyes of a startled person; hard eyes of an angry person |
| Regulates interaction | Looking more at a conversational partner when listening; regulating eye contact to assume or give up the speaking role (Wiemann & Knapp, 1999) |
| Indicates power | Direct, prolonged gaze to convey dominance; avoidance of eye contact to signal submissiveness |
| Forms impressions | Making eye contact with an audience to communicate confidence and sincerity |
Source: Leathers (1986). Adapted with permission.