The dual function of the human gaze: where we look and why

Wed Apr 20 2016 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)

The dual function of the human gaze: where we look and why

20 April 2016

What do we pay attention to and why? How does the fact that our eyes both receive information and reveal something about ourselves affect our behaviour?

Visiting Hood Fellow at the University of Auckland, Professor Alan Kingstone from the University of British Columbia’s Department of Psychology, gives a public lecture this month on understanding the human gaze.

From babyhood to old age, the human eye is drawn to people, and in particular their faces. But studies into this behaviour within a laboratory environment generate very different findings than those undertaken in the real world.

"When presented with images or videos of faces in the laboratory, the reaction is profoundly different than if you replace the static image with a real person," Professor Kingstone says.

In a 2011 study, Professor Kingstone and colleagues showed that when presented with a real person, research participants were more likely to direct their gaze somewhere other than towards that person. Conversely, when presented with a video, participants were more likely to look directly at the person in the video.

"Our eyes have a dual function, both gathering information and communicating information," Professor Kingstone says. "But the presence of a real person substantially alters where we direct our gaze and it’s these effects that are not well understood."

Other experiments studying the human gaze have uncovered fascinating insights, such as the example of two people eating together. When one of them looks down, signalling they are about to take a bite of food, the other person looks away.

In another experiment using eye tracker technology, study participants were presented with a swimsuit calendar. One group of participants believed their gaze was being monitored while the other group did not.

"When participants thought their gaze was not being monitored, they almost always looked at the calendar but when wearing an eye tracker, that gaze reduced significantly," Professor Kingstone says.

The challenge for cognitive science, Professor Kingstone says, is to take research out into the real world where studies can explore the full effects of the dual gaze.

This free public lecture at the University of Auckland is on Wednesday 20 April 2016 at 6pm in HSB1 (Human Sciences) 10 Symonds St, Auckland.

For media enquiries, please contact Anne Beston - a.beston@auckland.ac.nz