In the Eye of the Beholder: Eye Contact Increases Resistance to Persuasion

Popular belief holds that eye contact increases the success of persuasive communication, and prior research suggests that speakers who direct their gaze more toward their listeners are perceived as more persuasive. In contrast, we demonstrate that more eye contact between the listener and speaker du...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological science 2013-11, Vol.24 (11), p.2254-2261
Main Authors: Chen, Frances S., Minson, Julia A., Schöne, Maren, Heinrichs, Markus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attitude
Attitudes
Behavior. Attitude
Biological and medical sciences
Brain
Communication
Conflict
Eye
Eye Movement Measurements
Eye movements
Eye Movements - physiology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Perception
Persuasion
Persuasive Communication
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social interaction
Social Perception
Social psychology
Speakers
Success
Vision
Young Adult
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Summary:Popular belief holds that eye contact increases the success of persuasive communication, and prior research suggests that speakers who direct their gaze more toward their listeners are perceived as more persuasive. In contrast, we demonstrate that more eye contact between the listener and speaker during persuasive communication predicts less attitude change in the direction advocated. In Study 1, participants freely watched videos of speakers expressing various views on controversial sociopolitical issues. Greater direct gaze at the speaker's eyes was associated with less attitude change in the direction advocated by the speaker. In Study 2, we instructed participants to look at either the eyes or the mouths of speakers presenting arguments counter to participants' own attitudes. Intentionally maintaining direct eye contact led to less persuasion than did gazing at the mouth. These findings suggest that efforts at increasing eye contact may be counterproductive across a variety of persuasion contexts.
ISSN:0956-7976
1467-9280
DOI:10.1177/0956797613491968