Eye Gaze Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

LSI research recognizes eye gaze as one of the fundamental embodied elements of interaction that, in conjunction with talk, is essential to participants' understanding and accomplishment of face-to-face social interaction in a wide variety of contexts. This research can, broadly speaking, be divided into two types: ethnographic and conversation analytic. This entry explains each tradition but focuses on the conversation analytic approach. Ethnographic Approach The ethnographic strand of the field, in which the aim is to understand how interaction both shapes and is shaped by culture, includes accounts of the relationship of gazing behaviors to cultural context, conflict, and identity. We learn from this tradition, for example, that African-Americans view the lack of eye contact from Korean shopkeepers as a sign of disrespect (Bailey, 1997); that gay individuals use direct and broken " stares " by others to discern their gay identity (Nicholas, 2004); and that Japanese women avert their gaze as a sign of a highly-valued feminine quality within their culture, namely, modesty. In line with ethnographic research on communication in " high contact " (e.g., Mediterranean and Arabic) and " low contact " (e.g., Navajo and Asian) cultures, we find that gaze at one's conversational partner is more frequent and prolonged in " high contact " cultures. Indeed, gaze aversion is associated in many cultures with respect and deference. For example, in Kenyan culture, men turn their backs on their mothers-in-law when they speak to them, and among the Zulus, women must not look directly at their in-laws. In research on racial differences in communication, it has been reported that whites gaze more at their conversational partners than do African Americans (LeFrance & Mayo, 1976). In research on communication and gender, we find that, in North America, women gaze more at their conversational partners than do men. In short, ethnographers provide us with insights into the differential use and interpretation of gazing behaviors within and across cultures. Conversation analysts, in contrast, focus on the constitutive aspects of gaze in face-to-face interaction.