While it has been said that seven seconds is all that two strangers need to form opinions of one another, a recent study conducted by the Dartmouth psychology department shows that opinions can be formed with the mere glance of an eye.
According to graduate student Malia Mason, a simple glance is all that is necessary for a person to form critical initial judgments. Participants in the study consistently ranked people who deliberately made eye contact with them as more attractive, more intelligent and more likeable than those who looked away.
In the experiment, 43 Dartmouth undergraduates were shown a series of faces of fashion models scanned from popular magazines.
The faces were animated by computer to turn toward or away from the viewer, who then rated the faces on several scales.
The study's findings also revealed gender-related discrepancies in reaction to gazes.
Male participants rated the female models who turned toward them as more physically attractive, while the direction of gaze had no discernable effect on the ratings given by female participants to the same models.
"The take-home point from the study is that people are very self-serving," Mason said. "The finding is basically that a target shows interest by shifting their eyes, their attention, then all of a sudden, they're more intelligent."
The project was originally conceived by Liz Tatkow '03, while she was still an undergraduate at the College, Mason said.
"Liz was taking a class and proposed this project," Mason recalled. "She was sort of obsessed with [the psychology of] attraction."
In addition to Tatkow's interest in the subject, the project was particularly feasible to conduct.
"A lot of times, undergrads aren't sure what's practical and what's not," Mason said, "[But] this was straightforward, cute and no hassle to run."
Following Tatkow's subsequent graduation from Dartmouth, Mason and psychology professor Neil Macrae continued the experiment.
Upon learning of the study, many Dartmouth students found that their own experiences aligned with the findings.
"I think that we tend to think badly of the person who looks away because we want to build up our self-esteem," Dalia De Leon '07 said. "Our pride might just have been hurt."
At the same time, others were skeptical at the isolation of just one variable -- gazes -- in regard to physical attraction.
"I think [the findings] are generally right, but it depends on the stare or glance," Yukako Honda '07 said. "I think the facial expression ... would affect me, probably the body demeanor and clothing, as well."
Mason acknowledges that while these other factors do contribute to a person's judgments, gaze matters nonetheless.
"We know a lot about the neural correlates of eye-gaze connection," Mason said. "Humans are really good at detecting subtle shifts in gaze cues, and good at interpreting vague social messages, so there's a lot of reasons to study eye gaze."
In the psychology department, Mason has worked on several studies involving gaze, and is currently working on her dissertation regarding mind-wandering.
