Eye contact

A signal of attention

The eyes provide information about what a person is looking at and the place they give us in the exchange. Eye contact can elicit affective responses and increase physiological activation. It attracts attention because it involves us: we no longer just look at a face, we perceive that this person also directs their attention towards us.

The expression gives its meaning to the look

A look directed at you does not have the same effect on a smiling face as on a face expressing disgust. Experiments using modified faces show that the preference for direct gaze depends in particular on this expression. For presentation, the interest is therefore to associate contact and coherent expression, rather than treating the direction of the eyes as an independent advantage.

Conversation needs movement

The gaze helps to follow the reactions of others and to organize speech. A review of twenty-nine studies describes several possible functions, with results that vary depending on the situations and methods. Looking elsewhere is also part of the exchanges: continuous eye contact is not a necessary objective to have an attentive presence.

A change of presentation

This habit acts on a moving face: orientation of the head, attention and expression. Its aesthetic interest is mainly perceptual, and can be clear if you are used to keeping your eyes down.