The Effect of Eye Contact Is Contingent on Visual Awareness

Frontiers in Psychology
Shan XuHaiyan Geng

Abstract

The present study explored how eye contact at different levels of visual awareness influences gaze-induced joint attention. We adopted a spatial-cueing paradigm, in which an averted gaze was used as an uninformative central cue for a joint-attention task. Prior to the onset of the averted-gaze cue, either supraliminal (Experiment 1) or subliminal (Experiment 2) eye contact was presented. The results revealed a larger subsequent gaze-cueing effect following supraliminal eye contact compared to ano-contactcondition. In contrast, the gaze-cueing effect was smaller in the subliminaleye-contactcondition than in theno-contactcondition. These findings suggest that the facilitation effect of eye contact on coordinating social attention depends on visual awareness. Furthermore, subliminal eye contact might have an impact on subsequent social attention processes that differ from supraliminal eye contact. This study highlights the need to further investigate the role of eye contact in implicit social cognition.

References

Mar 1, 1972·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology·P C EllsworthA Henson
Aug 1, 1967·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology·P Bertelson
Aug 15, 2000·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·N J Emery
Feb 13, 2001·Cognition·P M MerikleJ D Eastwood
Sep 8, 2001·The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. A, Human Experimental Psychology·J Yiend, A Mathews
Sep 11, 2002·Psychological Science·C Neil MacraeMalia F Mason
Jun 18, 2003·Journal of Experimental Child Psychology·Teresa FarroniMark H Johnson
Apr 1, 2004·Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance·Chris Kelland FriesenAlan Kingstone
Jul 5, 2005·Nature Neuroscience·Naotsugu Tsuchiya, Christof Koch
Jul 27, 2006·Psychological Science·Benedict C JonesDavid R Feinberg
Jun 27, 2007·Psychological Bulletin·Alexandra FrischenSteven P Tipper
Jul 13, 2007·Experimental Brain Research·Wataru SatoMotomi Toichi
Oct 30, 2007·Consciousness and Cognition·Pines Nuku, Harold Bekkering
Nov 13, 2007·Psychophysiology·Monika Kiss, Martin Eimer
Feb 13, 2008·Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology = Revue Canadienne De Psychologie Expérimentale·Darren McKeeRaymond Klein
Apr 29, 2008·Current Biology : CB·Atsushi Senju, Gergely Csibra
May 20, 2008·Brain Research·Jari K HietanenPiia Astikainen
Jun 10, 2008·Neurophysiologie clinique = Clinical neurophysiology·N George, L Conty
Nov 6, 2008·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Davina BristowChristopher D Frith
Feb 17, 2009·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Atsushi Senju, Mark H Johnson
Nov 26, 2009·Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience·Leonhard SchilbachKai Vogeley
Feb 15, 2011·Cognition·Timo SteinPhilipp Sterzer
Nov 22, 2011·Experimental Brain Research·Shahd Al-Janabi, Matthew Finkbeiner
Aug 31, 2012·Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders·Andrea MarottaMaria Casagrande
Oct 17, 2012·Behavioral Neuroscience·Timothy K LeonardKari L Hoffman
Nov 3, 2012·Consciousness and Cognition·Yi-Chia Chen, Su-Ling Yeh
Apr 23, 2013·Neuropsychologia·Takemasa YokoyamaShinichi Kita
Apr 10, 2014·PloS One·Agnieszka WykowskaHermann J Müller
Jul 3, 2015·Cognition·Marcus RothkirchPhilipp Sterzer
Aug 11, 2015·Cognitive Neuroscience·Matthew Hudson, Paul A Skarratt
Oct 2, 2015·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Apoorva Rajiv MadipakkamPhilipp Sterzer
Jun 2, 2016·Cognition & Emotion·Tingji ChenJari K Hietanen
Sep 18, 2016·Consciousness and Cognition·Laurence ContyJari K Hietanen
Mar 23, 2017·Consciousness and Cognition·Jonne O Hietanen, Jari K Hietanen

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Citations

Dec 16, 2018·Scientific Reports·Kyveli KompatsiariAgnieszka Wykowska
Mar 18, 2020·Scientific Reports·Mario DalmasoGiovanni Galfano
Sep 6, 2019·Frontiers in Robotics and AI·Masaya IwasakiHideyuki Nakanishi

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Software Mentioned

Windows XP
FaceGen
Psychtoolbox
Matlab

Related Concepts

Trending Feeds

COVID-19

Coronaviruses encompass a large family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as more serious diseases, such as the ongoing outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19; formally known as 2019-nCoV). Coronaviruses can spread from animals to humans; symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties; in more severe cases, infection can lead to death. This feed covers recent research on COVID-19.

Blastomycosis

Blastomycosis fungal infections spread through inhaling Blastomyces dermatitidis spores. Discover the latest research on blastomycosis fungal infections here.

Nuclear Pore Complex in ALS/FTD

Alterations in nucleocytoplasmic transport, controlled by the nuclear pore complex, may be involved in the pathomechanism underlying multiple neurodegenerative diseases including Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Here is the latest research on the nuclear pore complex in ALS and FTD.

Applications of Molecular Barcoding

The concept of molecular barcoding is that each original DNA or RNA molecule is attached to a unique sequence barcode. Sequence reads having different barcodes represent different original molecules, while sequence reads having the same barcode are results of PCR duplication from one original molecule. Discover the latest research on molecular barcoding here.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a disease characterized by unexplained disabling fatigue; the pathology of which is incompletely understood. Discover the latest research on chronic fatigue syndrome here.

Evolution of Pluripotency

Pluripotency refers to the ability of a cell to develop into three primary germ cell layers of the embryo. This feed focuses on the mechanisms that underlie the evolution of pluripotency. Here is the latest research.

Position Effect Variegation

Position Effect Variagation occurs when a gene is inactivated due to its positioning near heterochromatic regions within a chromosome. Discover the latest research on Position Effect Variagation here.

STING Receptor Agonists

Stimulator of IFN genes (STING) are a group of transmembrane proteins that are involved in the induction of type I interferon that is important in the innate immune response. The stimulation of STING has been an active area of research in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Here is the latest research on STING receptor agonists.

Microbicide

Microbicides are products that can be applied to vaginal or rectal mucosal surfaces with the goal of preventing, or at least significantly reducing, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections. Here is the latest research on microbicides.