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Eye contact avoidance in crowds : A large wearable eye-tracking study

Hessels, Roy S ; Benjamins, Jeroen S ; Niehorster, Diederick C LU orcid ; 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 (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.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
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
  • scopus:85136881321
  • pmid:35996058
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
2024-04-18 09:21:34
@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}},
}