Staring

A llama staring at the camera

Staring is a prolonged gaze or fixed look. In staring, one subject or person is the continual focus of visual interest, for a long amount of time. The meaning, purpose, and rudeness, of staring varies widely between cultures. Staring can be interpreted as being either hostile like disapproval of another's behavior, or the result of intense concentration, interest or affection. Staring behavior can be considered as a form of aggression like when it is an invasion of an individual's privacy in certain contexts, or as a nonverbal cue to convey feelings of attraction in a social setting.[1] The resultant behavior or action defines whether it is aggressive in nature (e.g. leering that results in street harassment), passive or active expression of attraction, etc. However, to some extent staring often occurs accidentally, and often a person would be simply staring into a space for awareness, or could be lost in thought (sometimes known as daydreaming), stupefied, or be unable to see. As such, the meaning of a person's staring behavior depends upon the attributions made by the observer.[2]

When caught staring, the moment can be a source of embarrassment depending on the reason for staring. For example, in the movie Superbad, the character Fogell is caught staring at a classmate’s exposed thong underwear, or a whale tail. After she turns around, he responds nonsensically by providing an answer to a question that was not asked and promptly walks away from her. Here, Fogell felt embarrassment because he was caught doing something socially unacceptable.[3]

Acted staring, such as in this showdown between CM Punk (left) and Daniel Bryan (right), is sometimes used to convey aggression in professional wrestling.

In a staring contest, a mutual staring can take the form of a battle of wills. When eye contact is reciprocated, it could be an aggressive-dominating game where the loser is the person who looks away first.

Staring conceptually also implies confronting the inevitable – 'staring death in the face', or 'staring into the abyss'.[citation needed] Group staring evokes and emphasizes paranoia; such as the archetypal stranger walking into a saloon in a Western to be greeted by the stares of all the regulars. The fear of being stared at is called scopophobia.

  1. ^ Mary C Townsend; Karyn I Morgan (19 October 2017). Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing: Concepts of Care in Evidence-Based Practice. F.A. Davis. pp. 151+. ISBN 978-0-8036-6986-4.
  2. ^ Susan T. Fiske (9 November 2009). Social Beings: Core Motives in Social Psychology. John Wiley & Sons. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-470-12911-1.
  3. ^ Thomson, Desson (1 September 2007). "'Superbad,' Serving The Greater Good". The Washington Post. US: The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 October 2024.