The Eyes

Power: window to the soul, icy stare, evil eye, shifty eye, gleam in his eye, see eye to eye, kill with a glance, if looks could kill, bedroom eyes, look her right in the eyes, look right through me, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, apple of your eye, eye opener, eagle eye, Betty Davis eyes, making eyes, I'll believe it when I see it, catching someone's eye           

 Eye Cues

gaze

mutual gaze

eye contact

            other cues: wink, glare, shifty, vacant, squint, wet, blinking

European American adults typically look 40% of the time when talking, 60-70% of the time when listening. Mutual gaze occupies 30% of the time.

Average length of gaze is 2.95 seconds; mutual gaze is 1.18

African Americans look more while talking, less while listening

Functions of Gaze

(1)  Regulation

opening or closing channels

turn-taking

(2)  Monitor Feedback

Sign of interest

People tend to look away when processing difficult information

Experiment: pair up, watch what happens to the other person's eyes when they answer a series of questions:

                        How many letter in Washington?

How much is 12 times 13?

What is meant by the proverb, "It is better to have a bad peace than a good war?"

(3)  Express Emotion

(4) Communicate about the nature of the relationship

 Status
            Attitudes