School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University.
J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 2021 Jun;47(6):765-773. doi: 10.1037/xhp0000913. Epub 2021 Apr 15.
Eye contact plays an important role in social interaction and can capture and hold attention. However, it is unclear whether and how objects that can also guide attentional allocation interact with eye contact in guiding attention. Therefore, the current study adapted a well-established two-rectangle paradigm and used faces depicting different gaze directions (direct and averted) or rectangles overlaid with eyes as stimuli. In Experiment 1, we simultaneously presented two faces (one direct gaze, one averted gaze) to participants, manipulating cue location (direct-gaze face, averted-gaze face). The results revealed a larger object-based effect when the cue appeared on the direct-gaze face compared to the averted-gaze face. In Experiment 2, inverted faces were presented, and the results mirrored those of Experiment 1. Interestingly, rectangles overlaid with eyes were presented in Experiment 3, and the results showed that the object-based effect was larger when the cue appeared on the direct-gaze rectangle compared to the averted-gaze rectangle. These findings suggest that eye contact can interact with objects in guiding attention and that this effect is not reliant on the presence of the face. Our results can support attentional prioritization theory and may provide a new approach for diagnosing social-cognitive impairments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
眼神交流在社交互动中起着重要作用，可以吸引和保持注意力。然而，目前还不清楚物体是否以及如何与眼神交流相互作用，以引导注意力。因此，本研究改编了一种成熟的两矩形范式，使用了不同注视方向（直接注视和回避注视）的人脸或叠加眼睛的矩形作为刺激。在实验 1 中，我们同时向参与者呈现了两张人脸（一张直接注视，一张回避注视），并操纵了线索位置（直接注视人脸、回避注视人脸）。结果表明，当线索出现在直接注视人脸时，基于物体的效应更大。在实验 2 中，呈现了倒置的人脸，结果与实验 1 相似。有趣的是，在实验 3 中呈现了叠加眼睛的矩形，结果表明，当线索出现在直接注视矩形时，基于物体的效应更大。这些发现表明，眼神交流可以与物体相互作用，引导注意力，并且这种效应不依赖于脸的存在。我们的研究结果可以支持注意力优先化理论，并可能为诊断社会认知障碍提供一种新方法。
