Reviewing the Social Function of Eye Gaze in Social Interaction
Article No.: 76, Pages 1 - 3
Abstract
The role of gaze in communication is diverse and of the essence, particularly thanks to its dual function which both encodes and signals mental and emotional states, and the direction and object of attention. To date, substantial research on the attentional and perceptual effects of gaze behavior has established four main forms of social eye gaze, and each form plays a role in establishing, grounding, and ensuring communication between interlocutors. However, while the perceptual effects of gaze on attentional and cognitive processes are well-elaborated, social and affective effects of gaze and, particularly, mutual gaze attracted little attention. The present review suggests that the mutual gaze has a unique role in social interactions since it has both perceptual and affective effects in social interaction, and the unique affective and social role of mutual gaze in real-time and naturalistic settings still needs further research.
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May 2023
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Published: 30 May 2023
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ETRA '23: 2023 Symposium on Eye Tracking Research and Applications
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