Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Developmental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Cognition. 2019 Mar;184:28-43. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.12.005. Epub 2018 Dec 14.
Gaze allocation to human faces has recently been shown to be greatly dependent on the social context. However, what has not been considered explicitly here, is how gaze allocation may be supportive of the specific task that individuals carry out. In the present study, we combined these two insights. We investigated (1) how gaze allocation to facial features in face-to-face communication is dependent on the task-structure and (2) how gaze allocation to facial features is dependent on the gaze behavior of an interacting partner. To this end, participants and a confederate were asked to converse, while their eye movements were monitored using a state-of-the-art dual eye-tracking system. This system is unique in that participants can look each other directly in the eyes. We report that gaze allocation depends on the sub-task being carried out (speaking vs. listening). Moreover, we show that a confederate's gaze shift away from the participants affects their gaze allocation more than a gaze shift towards them. In a second experiment, we show that this gaze-guidance effect is not primarily stimulus-driven. We assert that gaze guidance elicited by the confederate looking away is related to the participants' sub-task of monitoring the confederate for when they can begin speaking. This study exemplifies the importance of both task structure and social context for gaze allocation during face-to-face communication.
注视分配最近被证明在很大程度上取决于社会背景。然而，这里没有明确考虑到的是，注视分配如何支持个人执行的特定任务。在本研究中，我们结合了这两个观点。我们调查了（1）在面对面交流中，注视面部特征如何取决于任务结构，以及（2）注视面部特征如何取决于交互伙伴的注视行为。为此，要求参与者和一个同伙进行对话，同时使用最先进的双眼跟踪系统监测他们的眼球运动。该系统的独特之处在于，参与者可以直接注视对方的眼睛。我们报告说，注视分配取决于正在进行的子任务（说话与倾听）。此外，我们还表明，同伴的目光从参与者身上移开会比他们的目光移向同伴更能影响他们的目光分配。在第二个实验中，我们表明这种注视引导效应不是主要由刺激驱动的。我们断言，同伴看向别处引起的注视引导与参与者监控同伴何时可以开始说话的子任务有关。这项研究例证了任务结构和社会背景对面对面交流中注视分配的重要性。
