Eye contact effect

The eye-contact effect is a psychological phenomenon in human selective attention and cognition. It is the effect that the perception of eye contact with another human face has on certain mechanisms in the brain.^[1] This contact has been shown to increase activation in certain areas of what has been termed the ‘social brain’.^[2] This social brain network processes social information as the face,^[3] theory of mind,^[4] empathy,^[5] and goal-directedness.^[6]

^ Senju, Atsushi; Johnson, Mark H. (2009-02-13). "The eye contact effect: mechanisms and development". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 13 (3): 127–134. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.11.009. PMID 19217822. S2CID 2873180.
^ Johnson, Mark H.; Griffin, Richard; Csibra, Gergely; Halit, Hanife; Farroni, Teresa; De Haan, Michelle; Tucker, Leslie A.; Baron–Cohen, Simon; Richards, John (2005). "The emergence of the social brain network: Evidence from typical and atypical development". Development and Psychopathology. 17 (3): 599–619. doi:10.1017/S0954579405050297. ISSN 0954-5794. PMC 1464100. PMID 16262984.
^ Hoffman, Elizabeth A.; Haxby, James V. (January 2000). "Distinct representations of eye gaze and identity in the distributed human neural system for face perception". Nature Neuroscience. 3 (1): 80–84. doi:10.1038/71152. ISSN 1097-6256. PMID 10607399. S2CID 369825.
^ Frith, Chris D.; Frith, Uta (2006-05-18). "The Neural Basis of Mentalizing". Neuron. 50 (4): 531–534. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2006.05.001. PMID 16701204. S2CID 16198411.
^ Singer, Tania (2006). "The neuronal basis and ontogeny of empathy and mind reading: Review of literature and implications for future research". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 30 (6): 855–863. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2006.06.011. PMID 16904182. S2CID 15411628.
^ Pelphrey, Kevin A.; Morris, James P. (June 2006). "Brain Mechanisms for Interpreting the Actions of Others From Biological-Motion Cues". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 15 (3): 136–140. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00423.x. ISSN 0963-7214. PMC 2136413. PMID 18079992.

[:0-1] Senju, Atsushi; Johnson, Mark H. (2009-02-13). "The eye contact effect: mechanisms and development". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 13 (3): 127–134. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.11.009. PMID 19217822. S2CID 2873180.

[:1-2] Johnson, Mark H.; Griffin, Richard; Csibra, Gergely; Halit, Hanife; Farroni, Teresa; De Haan, Michelle; Tucker, Leslie A.; Baron–Cohen, Simon; Richards, John (2005). "The emergence of the social brain network: Evidence from typical and atypical development". Development and Psychopathology. 17 (3): 599–619. doi:10.1017/S0954579405050297. ISSN 0954-5794. PMC 1464100. PMID 16262984.

[3] Hoffman, Elizabeth A.; Haxby, James V. (January 2000). "Distinct representations of eye gaze and identity in the distributed human neural system for face perception". Nature Neuroscience. 3 (1): 80–84. doi:10.1038/71152. ISSN 1097-6256. PMID 10607399. S2CID 369825.

[4] Frith, Chris D.; Frith, Uta (2006-05-18). "The Neural Basis of Mentalizing". Neuron. 50 (4): 531–534. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2006.05.001. PMID 16701204. S2CID 16198411.

[5] Singer, Tania (2006). "The neuronal basis and ontogeny of empathy and mind reading: Review of literature and implications for future research". Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. 30 (6): 855–863. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2006.06.011. PMID 16904182. S2CID 15411628.

[6] Pelphrey, Kevin A.; Morris, James P. (June 2006). "Brain Mechanisms for Interpreting the Actions of Others From Biological-Motion Cues". Current Directions in Psychological Science. 15 (3): 136–140. doi:10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00423.x. ISSN 0963-7214. PMC 2136413. PMID 18079992.

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