Part 2 (1/2)
There is more mutual eye contact between friends than others, and a looker's frank gaze is widely interpreted as positive regard Lovers really do gaze more into each other's eyes
People who seek eye contact while speaking are regarded not only as exceptionally well-disposed by their targets, but also as more believable and earnest Politicians ”sweep” the rooaze Salesmen kno to look at each member of their audience
If the usual short, interazes of longer duration, the target interprets this asthat the communication is less important than the personal relationshi+p between the two people
The areat deal of inforaze, widening of the eyes all send very clear es
The causes and consequence of pupil dilation are particularly interesting because it is one of those communication behaviors that neither party (sender or receiver) arethe communication Consider this: people are shoo identical photographs of a wo that on one of theed to be double the normal, natural size When asked to rate which one is raphs will nominate the woman with falsely dilated pupils However, if you ask theraphs differ, very few identify the manipulation of pupil dilation They point to skin, hair texture, lips or face shape, but rarely the pupils
Pupils dilate for various reasons In bright light they contract; in di ee The latter visibly ht What is more, people respond to others who appear to be sexually attracted to them Women used to put belladonna plant extract (which literally translates as ”beautiful woman”) in their eyes to cause pupil dilation (and, consequently, eye-sight probleerous process, but was considered worth the risk to attract men Thus the man, unaware of why he was attracted to the woman, responded to the dilated pupils
This is an exanals Not one that is perhaps the most relevant or applicable in the workplace, however
Consider the factors that deteraze: 1 Distance In elevators, we turn to face the door because we are forced to stand too close together, and reducing eye gaze helps to lessen the disco our body zones invaded Note how conversation before, during and after the ride changes As soon as the distance between people drops below 6 feet (18 meter), their eye contact decreases
2 Topic of conversation It is no accident that Catholic confessionals and psychiatric couches are so arranged as to attempt to reduce the amount of eye contact between priest and the individual in the confessional, and the therapist with the patient in the roo things or looking inward, it is better that they sense but do not see others, and that those listening do not (cannot) stare at theood conversations” walking or doing a cooperative activity, such as washi+ng up, because they are close to, but not looking at, their companions Intimate talk can be inhibited by eye contact
3 Conversation task Doctors lookabout emotional rather than physical symptoms or conditions People look more at cooperators than co to influence
4 Attention Hitch-hikers, charity-tin shakers and others all maximize eye contact to increase attention People look at each other about 75 percent of the ti, but only 40 percent of the tiet, and keep, the attention of others
5 Interpersonal relationshi+ps People look at those they like more than those they do not like Their pupils dilate nals dominance: more powerful people are looked at more (partly because they tend to look aze Direct gaze signals threat, while cutting off or averting your gaze is likely to signal appeasement
6 Cooperation The extent to which people are willing to cooperate rather than coaze patterns The a of a high level of gaze is that the gazer is interested and attentive However, combined with certain expressions it could as easily indicate threat
7 Personality Extroverts look er, at their interlocutors than introverts The confident, the bright and the socially dominant look more while it is the opposite for the socially anxious Fe to compared to males
8 Physical appearance People look less at the disabled, and at less attractive individuals, and more at the able-bodied and those who are ies are associated with reduced and/or ”odd” gaze patterns; in particular, autism and paranoia Schizophrenics and depressed people tend to avert eye gaze
10 Ethnicity People from contact cultures such as those in the Near East look more than those from non-contact cultures such as those in Europe
People also disguise eye contact by wearing dark glasses or shades Blind people do so to indicate their blindness, but also because they cannot always ”face” a person Often, to avoid the e able to ”look a person in the eye” when appropriate, blind people wear tinted glasses Security people also wear dark glasses so that possible suspects cannot see the direction in which they are looking Traffic police wear reflecting, ument Irate or nervous drivers can be put off a confrontation if they not only cannot see the eyes of the policeman but are also forced to see their own eyes They experience objective self-awareness, seeing the in conversation
Most of us know people who close their eyes while speaking Such ”eye blocks” may occur because a person is bored or feels superior They deny both speaker and listener the opportunity to receive and give feedback Shy, introverted people also tend to have a less open eye gaze
The way rooms are furnished can maximize or minimize eye contact, as with the psychiatric couches and confessionals described above But the position of chairs, desks and other office paraphernalia ht also be a clue to a person's preferred iven that they chose or arranged the furnishi+ngs themselves) It can also dictate how close you are to one another, how easy it is to look at each other in the eye and the angle of contact (orientation) It can be very unco face-to-face at a very close distance, or particularly relaxing
Soe others to choose where to sit froht, ”stiffness” and distance They believe it ht symbolize the type of interaction and communication they prefer or intend to have
Facial expression
The face is a highly expressive region It is ”readout” of emotions: i this, however, we expend a lot of effort trying to control it The eyes, mouth and eyebrows are all able tofor many different expressions The nose can be flared or wrinkled in a sneer Skin color, texture and reat deal of information about an individual's s of eyebrows, forehead and mouth in different expressions can send at least ten ees Happy facial expression is usually draith the eyes and sry or sad face with the mouth line down, as in inverted U; and surprise is indicated with boththe shape of an O
We can detect or infer with high accuracy specific eer, happiness and sadness We can detect ”level of threat” from the face, as well as the health of another person
TABLE 21 Judging personality from facial features Certainly, many facial expressions such as startle responses or expressions of pain appear innate, rather than learnt or culturally variable But there are cultural rules about appropriate expressions in various social settings Thus one is expected to look cheerful at weddings, miserable at funerals, and excited at sports matches
People are known by their faces People ”put on” faces and many believe that, after a time, one's face says a lot about one's personality Whether this is true or not, studies have shown that people ments based on facial features, as shown in Table 21
As with eye gaze, the facial expressions of people at interviews, in coes about their inner states, particularly if one observes how the expressions change in response to what is being said
One of theand important features of facial expressions is, first, their speed of change; and second, their congruity The ether” The fake smile occurs with the mouth but not with the eyes Further, the smile is very quick to both appear and disappear
The face can reveal our physiological reaction very subtly We blush and ith embarrassnal surprise and disgust The expressiveness and importance of the face to everyday communication is best illustrated when it iswo It helps if the eyes are visible, but these too rille” Equally, people learn to put on a ”poker face” so as not to give away any inforned for expression We learn to read faces and what they say The salesperson, the negotiator, the motivation speaker all need to be skilled readers and senders of facial expressions
The sood deal of attention Ventriloquists smile, as do sophisticated liars both to put others off The s expression helps the ventriloquist to deceive observers, while in the case of the ”bare-faced” liar iton
The science of senuine, expressive and spontaneous sically in terms of what muscles do to different parts of the face; lips, cheeks or eyes There is also the wry, nition of the vicissitudes of fate The polite sn of e face is often not very different fro or tearful face Some people wo ”frightfully jolly” People soh as a response to shock, or when ehter Genuine laughter increases breathing rate and depth, while lowering blood pressure and heart rate Crying, as uniquely huhter and n of joy and relief as of shock or sadness
The ”science of s” was founded by Charles Darhose centenary was celebrated in 2009 He noticed that s is universal, whereas estures or touch) differ between cultures and are therefore probably learnt Babies born blind sin sets the attention of adults, but s and laughter often occurred together and therefore had siht, was siued, is the outward in to connect us to others We are, as people say now, ”prewired” to connect with others via this systely, some researchers have shown that people who cannot smile, because of facial paralysis, say, have more difficulty in social relationshi+ps
However, there : when etiquette dictates whether it is appropriate to smile or not For example, it has been demonstrated that in America, people smile more in the south than the north (cut by the MasonDixon line)
We know that, on average, women smile more than irls smile more than baby boys We know that powerfulis linked to testosterone: the higher the level of the hormone in men, the sested that the English sroups because of their ideas about the virtues of the ”stiff upper lip” and not appearing emotional And they also keep their teeth hidden and pull their mouths sideways rather than up One explanation for the co time a small mouth was considered ists call ”the expression of positive affect” The sequence of events goes like this: 1 Most external events (seeing a person, hearing a joke), but also internal events (such as a h brain activation, an emotion
2 This effects the facial nerves that control the production of emotional expressions but also other physical systems such as heart rate and skin conductance
3 The actual expression is nitive) processes
4 There is feedback fro is not only a manifestation of happiness, but also increases happiness In fact, impressive physical evidence has de happy or contented, but also that putting on a se in body temperature, heart rate, skin resistance and so on That is, adopting a s expression can lead to positive e that others tend to sion
There isWe automatically copy the facial expressions of others We reciprocate and in social groups it can be contagious People respond to those who smile, and evaluate them differently and oes: ”Laugh, and the world laughs with you; cry and you cry alone”
This sets up a virtuous cycle for the smiler and a vicious cycle for the non-sotiation situations, the person who smiles first increases the possibility of the other person(s) s and, therefore, also cooperation and helpfulness Sether