A group of Dartmouth College research students did a study on the relationship between eye contact and degrees of engagement during a conversation. “Eye contact is incredibly immersive and powerful,” said Sohie Wohltjen, lead author and graduate student in psychology and brain sciences at Dartmouth.
They paired together Dartmouth students and filmed their talks to learn more about the relationships between eye contact and pupillary synchrony (the synchronization of the pattern of pupil dilation) in a dialogue. Each pair was sent to a laboratory, where they were given eye-tracking glasses, sat across from one another, and invited to have a 10-minute chat. They were advised to try to prolong the conversation with the person with whom they were engaged even after the 10-minute chat was up.
The study's findings revealed that when people start talking, their pupillary synchrony increases, and when pupillary synchrony reaches its peak, they make eye contact. When eye contact is lost, pupillary synchronization declines dramatically, only to return once eye contact is regained. According to the study, there was also a link between instances of eye contact and higher levels of participation during the conversation.
“We make eye contact when we are already in sync, and, if anything, eye contact seems to help break that synchrony,” said senior author Thalia Wheatley, a professor of psychology and brain sciences at Dartmouth and principal investigator of the Dartmouth Social Systems Laboratory. Eye contact can be used to temporarily interrupt synchronization to allow for a new thinking or idea.”
Furthermore, "conversation is a creative act in which people construct a shared tale from disparate voices." “Moments of eye contact appear to communicate when we have reached shared comprehension and need to give our separate voice,” Wheatley continued.
Images by: Sophie Wohltjen
#Engaging #Conversation #EyeContact #Dartmouth