Eye Contact Increases Resistance to Persuasion

Remember this when you are talking to your doctor and need to convince them that they are stupid and know nothing about stroke recovery.
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2013/09/25/0956797613491968

1. Frances S. Chen1,2
2. Julia A. Minson3
3. Maren Schöne1
4. Markus Heinrichs1,4

1. ¹Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg
2. ²Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia
3. ³Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
4. ⁴Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg

1. Frances S. Chen, Department of Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 3521-2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 1Z4 E-mail: frances.chen@psych.ubc.ca

1. Author Contributions F. S. Chen and J. A. Minson contributed equally to this work and share first authorship. F. S. Chen and J. A. Minson developed the study concept. All authors contributed to the study design. Testing and data collection were performed by M. Schöne. F. S. Chen and J. A. Minson performed the data analysis and interpretation. F. S. Chen and J. A. Minson drafted the manuscript, and all authors provided critical revisions. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.

Abstract

Popular belief holds that eye contact increases the success of persuasive communication, and prior research suggests that speakers who direct their gaze more toward their listeners are perceived as more persuasive. In contrast, we demonstrate that more eye contact between the listener and speaker during persuasive communication predicts less attitude change in the direction advocated. In Study 1, participants freely watched videos of speakers expressing various views on controversial sociopolitical issues. Greater direct gaze at the speaker’s eyes was associated with less attitude change in the direction advocated by the speaker. In Study 2, we instructed participants to look at either the eyes or the mouths of speakers presenting arguments counter to participants’ own attitudes. Intentionally maintaining direct eye contact led to less persuasion than did gazing at the mouth. These findings suggest that efforts at increasing eye contact may be counterproductive across a variety of persuasion contexts.