Eye Contact Increases Resistance to Persuasion
Christopher Philip
It is a wide-spread belief that increased eye contact leads to an increase in persuasive communication. The tenant, “Hold direct eye contact to influence other people” has been challenged by this new research from Harvard, the University of British Columbia and the University of Freiberg who used newly developed eye-tracking technology to test the popular claim.
The research published in the journal Psychological Science found that “more eye contact between the listener and speaker during persuasive communication predicts less attitude change.” “There is a lot of cultural lore about the power of eye contact as an influence tool,” said lead researcher Frances Chen. “But our findings show that direct eye contact makes skeptical listeners less likely to change their minds, not more, as previously believed.”
In the first study, participants were permitted to freely watch a speaker who was expressing various views on controversial issues. The subject’s eye movements were tracked throughout the experiment with specialized eye-tracking software. When the subjects voluntarily watched the speaker’s eyes, they were significantly less likely to alter their opinions.
However, when eye contact was made, it was successfully correlated with their prior agreement to the opinion of the speaker. In other words, desire for eye contact was a predictor of agreement. Participants also tended to look at the eyes of the speaker more when the speaker’s eyes were averted. This suggests that eye contact during persuasion generally, is somewhat aversion driven.
In the second study, the subjects were instructed to look at either the eyes or the mouth of the speaker. In this experiment, they intentionally presented views counter to the listeners own opinions and attitudes. They found that direct eye contact also lead to less persuasion than did gazing at the mouth. The subjects also reported that they were less inclined to interact with advocates of the speaker’s arguments. The only case where direct eye contact was beneficial was when the listener already agreed with the speaker’s opinions. The findings suggest that encouraging direct eye contact is counterproductive in persuasion contexts.
How To Use The Results
The results show some key findings. One, when a speaker offers a difference of opinion, and persuasion is intended, it’s best to avoid eye contact rather than encourage it. Two, when eye contact is voluntarily made, it suggests that the listener is in agreement with the speaker. However, when eye contact is forced upon the listener, it decreases the chances that persuasion will be successful.
The Root Of Eye Contact And Persuasion
Eye contact is likely a mechanism to show agreement, but also a method to avoid confrontation. Previous research has found that eye contact is demanding on the listener as he or she tries to focus on the message. It’s why it’s generally not advised to force young children into eye contact when they are being reprimanded – it’s why the “Look at me, I’m talking to you!” is not advised. Children simply avoid eyes to avoid conflict, to submit, and either focus on the message, unlikely, or escape the threatening situation, more probably. The same has been noted for other situations of conflict throughout the animal kingdom, from aggressive dogs to bears – always avoid direct threatening eye contact unless you intent to welcome a fight.
As Julia Minson, co-lead researcher of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government says, “The findings highlight the fact that eye contact can signal very different kinds of messages depending on the situation. While eye contact may be a sign of connection or trust in friendly situations, it’s more likely to be associated with dominance or intimidation in adversarial situations.”
She suggests that “It might be helpful to keep in mind that trying to maintain eye contact may backfire if you’re trying to convince someone who has a different set of beliefs than you.”
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Resources
Chen, Frances S, Minson, Julia A ; Schöne, Maren ; Heinrichs, Markus. In the Eye of the Beholder, Psychological Science. 2019; 24(11): 2254-2261.
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