Body Language of Eye Catch And Look Away
Cue: Eye Catch And Look Away
Synonym(s): N/A
Description: An immediate aversion of the eyes upon eye contact – either down or to the side.
In One Sentence: Eye catch and look away is a signal that one does not want to be noticed looking.
How To Use it: This is generally a cue you will not want to apply as it is perceived as being socially awkward. The exception worth noting, however, and one which women may find effective, is in a dating context. Women can catch the eyes of men and then quickly avert them. However, this is best done by looking down rather than away as this perceived as scanning. Usually eye contact is required to be coupled with a slight smile. When women break eye contact with men in this quick fashion, it tells them that they are submissive to their dominance. This is the most natural dating arrangement and is alluring for both parties.
Context: a) Dating b) General.
Verbal Translation: a) “I find you attractive but don’t want to be caught staring or showing too much interest. Besides, I find your attractiveness and dominance intimidating.”
b) “I made eye contact with you by accident and I am uncomfortable holding it for any length of time because I see you as more dominant than me.”
b) “I’m averting my eyes after eye contact because I don’t like you. I don’t want to talk to you or acknowledge you exist.”
b) “I caught your eye by accident as I was casually scanning the room.”
Variant: See Eye Aversion, Gaze Avoidance and Wandering Eyes, Downcast Eyes or Eyes Down.
Cue In Action: a) When scanning the room for someone to approach, he caught the eye of an attractive woman. She continued to scan the room rather than looking down and no smile was present – she was disinterested. b) He was angry and nearing a boiling point. Then he made eye contact with a young man to his dismay. The young man quickly averted his eyes pretending not to notice the raging veins about to burst through his forehead.
Meaning and/or Motivation: Eye catch and look away is defined by its context.
When done to strangers it indicates submission. Usually the weaker party will look away first while the more dominant might see eye contact as a personal challenge and hold his gaze longer.
Eyes that catch other eyes when scanning a room will continue to scan despite eye contact. This shows others that eye contact happened by accident and lacked intent or meaning.
In a dating context, eyes that look down after eye contact show submission while eyes that look left or right, as in a general context, simply mean that a person was scanning the room. Looking down is usually done by woman followed by a smile and other indicators of interest such as neck or wrist exposure, preening the hair or blushing due to nervousness.
Cue Cluster: Watch for submissive cues in people that habitually break eye contact first such as head lowered, shoulders shrugged, arms pulled in legs crossed tightly, touching the face and neck, and so forth. In dating, eyes that look away, right or left, rather than down signal lack of interest. A coy smile indicates the opposite especially when done by a woman.
Body Language Category: Appease, Dislike (nonverbal), Eye Language, Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Nonthreatening body language.
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