The stare-in-the-crowd effect is the notion that an eyes-forward, direct
gaze
In critical theory, sociology, and psychoanalysis, the gaze (French ''le regard''), in the philosophical and figurative sense, is an individual's (or a group's) awareness and perception of other individuals, other groups, or oneself. The concept ...
is more easily detected than an averted gaze. First discovered by
psychologist
A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...
and
neurophysiologist Michael von Grünau and his psychology student Christina Marie Anston using human subjects in 1995, the
processing
Processing is a free graphical library and integrated development environment (IDE) built for the electronic arts, new media art, and visual design communities with the purpose of teaching non-programmers the fundamentals of computer programming ...
advantage associated with this effect is thought to derive from the importance of
eye contact
Eye contact occurs when two people look at each other's eyes at the same time. In humans, eye contact is a form of nonverbal communication and can have a large influence on social behavior. Coined in the early to mid-1960s, the term came from ...
as a cue for
social interactions
A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...
.
Description
In their 1995 paper published in ''
Perception
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
,'' von Grünau and Anston demonstrated that
staring eyes (straight gaze with
iris
Iris most often refers to:
*Iris (anatomy), part of the eye
*Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess
* ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
* Iris (color), an ambiguous color term
Iris or IRIS may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fictional ent ...
and
pupil
The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...
in center position in
eye socket
In anatomy, the orbit is the cavity or socket of the skull in which the eye and its appendages are situated. "Orbit" can refer to the bony socket, or it can also be used to imply the contents. In the adult human, the volume of the orbit is , of ...
) are detected faster than eyes gazing to the right or left (averted gaze with iris and pupil in right-most or left-most position in eye socket). Eye targets with a straight gaze, when presented in an array of averted gaze nontargets, are detected faster with fewer errors than an averted gaze targets presented in an array of straight gaze targets.
This search
asymmetry
Asymmetry is the absence of, or a violation of, symmetry (the property of an object being invariant to a transformation, such as reflection). Symmetry is an important property of both physical and abstract systems and it may be displayed in pre ...
, in which straight gaze targets are given preference in an
array
An array is a systematic arrangement of similar objects, usually in rows and columns.
Things called an array include:
{{TOC right
Music
* In twelve-tone and serial composition, the presentation of simultaneous twelve-tone sets such that the ...
of averted gaze distractors, is found for both realistically drawn and schematic eye
stimuli
A stimulus is something that causes a physiological response. It may refer to:
* Stimulation
** Stimulus (physiology), something external that influences an activity
** Stimulus (psychology), a concept in behaviorism and perception
* Stimulus (eco ...
but not for other arrayed objects. Search asymmetry is not seen with geometric stimuli—for instance 1 x 3 rows of black and white squares—that vary in the position of the distinguishing feature, or stimuli consisting of only one schematic eye.
This effect, which has subsequently been replicated in many different search
paradigms
In science and philosophy, a paradigm () is a distinct set of concepts or thought patterns, including theories, research methods, postulates, and standards for what constitute legitimate contributions to a field.
Etymology
''Paradigm'' comes f ...
, is understood in terms of the evolutionary significance of what is considered to be one of the most critical
sociocognitive abilities of humans and other
primates
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
: gaze perception. Gaze perception can manifest itself in two ways depending on context, social group or species.
* Mutual gaze or eye contact in humans, and some other primates, in one context can serve to bond individuals and regulate
social interactions
A social relation or also described as a social interaction or social experience is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more individuals ...
through the transmission of expressions of
intimacy
An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving family, friends, or ...
and
filial
Filial may refer to:
* Filial church, a Roman Catholic church to which is annexed the cure of souls, but which remains dependent on another church
* Filial piety
In Confucianism, Chinese Buddhism, and Daoist ethics, filial piety (, ''xiào' ...
identity (Kleinke 1986).
* But, in another context, a sustained stare may be interpreted as a sign of
hostility
Hostility is seen as form of emotionally charged aggressive behavior. In everyday speech it is more commonly used as a synonym for anger and aggression.
It appears in several psychological theories. For instance it is a facet of neuroticism in ...
or anger—a cue for increased vigilance or aversive action (Ellsworth and Carlsmith 1973). Staring is a threat gesture in many primate societies (Hinde and Rowell 1962) and makes most people feel nervous and tense (Strom and Beck 1979).
Regardless of how it is perceived and subsequently processed
cognitively, a directed gaze is a powerful cue for potential synergistic or antagonistic interactions.
According to Darwin (1872) and Gibson (1969), organisms have evolved
perceptual sensitivities that
maximize their survival. Among these is a visual system that rapidly and reliably identifies and discriminates relevant from irrelevant cues. The stare-in-the-crowd effect is considered to be one of these perceptual abilities: a ‘quick and dirty’ primary process, by means of which an organism can take on board basic facts about the space it shares with others and respond appropriately to maximize its survival and/or the survival of conspecifics with a common filial identity.
It has been speculated that
human eye
The human eye is a sensory organ, part of the sensory nervous system, that reacts to visible light and allows humans to use visual information for various purposes including seeing things, keeping balance, and maintaining circadian rhythm.
...
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
* Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
* Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies ...
evolved from a necessity for fast and accurate gaze perception for complex social interactions (Emery 2000). According to this model, an eye direction detector (EDD) mechanism - a
neurocognitive
Neurocognitive functions are cognitive functions closely linked to the function of particular areas, neural pathways, or cortical networks in the brain, ultimately served by the substrate of the brain's neurological matrix (i.e. at the cellular ...
system responsible for the rapid detection of eyes in the environment and their gaze direction – arose as a function of the
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is c ...
created by a dark circular iris relative to the white
sclera
The sclera, also known as the white of the eye or, in older literature, as the tunica albuginea oculi, is the opaque, fibrous, protective, outer layer of the human eye containing mainly collagen and some crucial elastic fiber. In humans, and som ...
(Baron-Cohen 1994). Specifically, it is contended that the increased ratio of exposed sclera in the eye outline of humans serves to enhance the velocity and acuity of gaze direction perception (Kobayashi and Kohshima 2001).
[{{Cite journal, last=Kobayashi, first=Hiromi, last2=Kohshima, first2=Shiro, date=2001, title=Unique morphology of the human eye and its adaptive meaning: comparative studies on external morphology of the primate eye, url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jhev.2001.0468, journal=Journal of Human Evolution, volume=40, issue=5, pages=419–435, doi=10.1006/jhev.2001.0468, issn=0047-2484]
References
* Baron-Cohen, S. (1994) How to build a baby that can read minds: Cognitive mechanisms in mind reading. Cahiers de Psychology Cognitive/Current Psychology of Cognition, 13, 513–552.
* Darwin C, (1904) The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals (London: Murray) (original work published 1872).
* Ellsworth, P. C., and Carlsmith, J. M. (1973) Eye contact and gaze aversion in aggressive encounter. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 117–122.
* Emery, N. J. (2000) The eyes have it: The neuroethology, function and evolution of social gaze. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 24, 581–604.
* Gibson, E J. (1969) Principles of Perceptual Learning and Development (New York: Academic Press).
* Hinde R. A., and Rowell, T. E. (1962) Communication by posture and facial expression in the rhesus monkey. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 138, 1-21.
* Kleinke, C. L. (1986) Gaze and eye contact: A research review. Psychological Bulletin, 100, 78–100.
* Kobayashi, H., and Kohshima, S. (2001) Unique morphology of the human eye and its adaptive meaning: Comparative studies on external morphology of the primate eye. Journal of Human Evolution, 40, 419–435.
* Strom, J. C., and Beck, R. W. (1979) Staring and participants’ sex: Physiological and subjective reactions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 5, 114-117.
* Von Grünau, M., and Anston, C. (1995) The detection of gaze direction: A stare-in-the-crowd effect. Perception, 24, 1297–1313.
Perception