Eye contact
Eye contact is mutual gaze in which two people look directly into each other’s eyes. It can convey attention, emotion, or social intent.
Gaze perception: The ability to detect where another person is looking and interpret the direction of their gaze. Direct mutual gaze is one outcome of detecting and responding to another person’s gaze.
Conversation: A spoken exchange in which participants take turns contributing and responding. Gaze helps regulate turns, attention, and feedback during spoken interaction.
Averted gaze: A direction of looking away from another person or from the object of shared attention. It contrasts with direct mutual gaze and can signal avoidance, thought, or deference.
Facial expression: A visible configuration of facial movements that can convey emotion, intention, or other information. Eye contact combines with facial expression to shape how a face is interpreted.
Superior temporal sulcus: A cortical region involved in processing biological motion, faces, and socially relevant gaze cues. It helps process gaze direction, a cue central to establishing mutual gaze.
Nonverbal communication: Communication through behavior and signals other than words, including gaze, gesture, and posture. Eye contact is a prominent nonverbal signal whose meaning depends on context.
Staring: A prolonged, fixed look that may be perceived as intrusive, confrontational, or unusually attentive. Duration and intensity can make gaze feel like staring rather than ordinary eye contact.
Empathy: The capacity to understand or share another person’s feelings and perspective. Eye contact may support social connection, but it does not by itself demonstrate empathy.
Amygdala: A group of brain nuclei involved in emotion, learning, and evaluating biologically significant stimuli. It responds to direct gaze and helps assign social and emotional significance to it.
Social anxiety disorder: A mental disorder marked by persistent fear of scrutiny or negative evaluation in social situations. Fear of being observed can make direct gaze uncomfortable or difficult to sustain.