GAZE AVOIDANCE - PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL JUDGMENTS OF PEOPLE WHO AVOIDDIRECT FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT

Some people maintain direct, face-to-face contact during interaction, whereas others avert their gaze or turn their face while interacting. Research on individual differences in gaze avoidance, while sparse, fa lls into two areas. One concerns the personality and psychopathology c orrelates of gaze aversion, and the other concerns social judgments ma de of people who avert their gaze during interaction. The findings gen erally show that gaze aversion is associated with unfavorable traits ( shyness, social anxiety, risk for schizophrenia) and negative social e valuations (gaze averse people are rated as more deceptive and less si ncere). The present study took advantage of an archival data set that contained facial photographs from which gaze avoidance could be scored . The correlates of gaze avoidance were different for men and women. G aze avoidant men tended to be emotionally inhibited and overcontrolled , and reported a high incidence of various psychosomatic and physical symptoms. Gaze avoidant women, on the other hand, were high on measure s of psychopathy, hysteria, and traditional femininity, they tended to have fewer physical symptoms. Gaze avoidant women were also viewed by others in a negative light (as being disagreeable, unconscientious, u nattractive, and even somewhat lower on intelligence). In males, none of the social judgment variables correlated significantly with gaze av oidance. Results are discussed in terms of sex differences in the mean ing and communicative function of this non-verbal social behavior. Cop yright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.