Eye contact avoidance in crowds : A large wearable eye-tracking study
(2022) In Attention, Perception & Psychophysics 84(8). p.2623-2640- Abstract
Eye contact is essential for human interactions. We investigated whether humans are able to avoid eye contact while navigating crowds. At a science festival, we fitted 62 participants with a wearable eye tracker and instructed them to walk a route. Half of the participants were further instructed to avoid eye contact. We report that humans can flexibly allocate their gaze while navigating crowds and avoid eye contact primarily by orienting their head and eyes towards the floor. We discuss implications for crowd navigation and gaze behavior. In addition, we address a number of issues encountered in such field studies with regard to data quality, control of the environment, and participant adherence to instructions. We stress that... (More)
Eye contact is essential for human interactions. We investigated whether humans are able to avoid eye contact while navigating crowds. At a science festival, we fitted 62 participants with a wearable eye tracker and instructed them to walk a route. Half of the participants were further instructed to avoid eye contact. We report that humans can flexibly allocate their gaze while navigating crowds and avoid eye contact primarily by orienting their head and eyes towards the floor. We discuss implications for crowd navigation and gaze behavior. In addition, we address a number of issues encountered in such field studies with regard to data quality, control of the environment, and participant adherence to instructions. We stress that methodological innovation and scientific progress are strongly interrelated.
(Less)
- author
- Hessels, Roy S ; Benjamins, Jeroen S ; Niehorster, Diederick C LU ; van Doorn, Andrea J ; Koenderink, Jan J ; Holleman, Gijs A ; de Kloe, Yentl J R ; Valtakari, Niilo V ; van Hal, Sebas and Hooge, Ignace T C LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022-08-22
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Eye contact, Crowd navigation, Eye tracking, Wearable, Gaze
- in
- Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
- volume
- 84
- issue
- 8
- pages
- 18 pages
- publisher
- Springer
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:35996058
- scopus:85136881321
- ISSN
- 1943-3921
- DOI
- 10.3758/s13414-022-02541-z
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- © 2022. The Author(s).
- id
- aa7ba10d-9b59-4e29-b263-5a4dc9ce9be5
- date added to LUP
- 2022-08-26 11:34:38
- date last changed
- 2025-01-11 11:29:13
@article{aa7ba10d-9b59-4e29-b263-5a4dc9ce9be5, abstract = {{<p>Eye contact is essential for human interactions. We investigated whether humans are able to avoid eye contact while navigating crowds. At a science festival, we fitted 62 participants with a wearable eye tracker and instructed them to walk a route. Half of the participants were further instructed to avoid eye contact. We report that humans can flexibly allocate their gaze while navigating crowds and avoid eye contact primarily by orienting their head and eyes towards the floor. We discuss implications for crowd navigation and gaze behavior. In addition, we address a number of issues encountered in such field studies with regard to data quality, control of the environment, and participant adherence to instructions. We stress that methodological innovation and scientific progress are strongly interrelated.</p>}}, author = {{Hessels, Roy S and Benjamins, Jeroen S and Niehorster, Diederick C and van Doorn, Andrea J and Koenderink, Jan J and Holleman, Gijs A and de Kloe, Yentl J R and Valtakari, Niilo V and van Hal, Sebas and Hooge, Ignace T C}}, issn = {{1943-3921}}, keywords = {{Eye contact; Crowd navigation; Eye tracking; Wearable; Gaze}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{08}}, number = {{8}}, pages = {{2623--2640}}, publisher = {{Springer}}, series = {{Attention, Perception & Psychophysics}}, title = {{Eye contact avoidance in crowds : A large wearable eye-tracking study}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/s13414-022-02541-z}}, doi = {{10.3758/s13414-022-02541-z}}, volume = {{84}}, year = {{2022}}, }