Eye contact and gaze aversion in an aggressive encounter

Abstract

61 angered and nonangered male undergraduates delivered shocks to victims who (a) looked at the aggressor, (b) averted their gaze downward, or (c) varied these behaviors in a random sequence. The random sequence conditions constituted a within-Ss design comparable to the between-Ss design represented by the other 4 conditions. Angered Ss in the between-Ss design gave significantly fewer shocks to victims who consistently looked at them than to victims who averted their gaze, while eye contact had no effect on the nonangered Ss. In the within-Ss design, however, Ss gave significantly more shock to the victim when he established eye contact than when he looked away. Results are interpreted in terms of the Ss' efforts to avoid or eliminate the aversive eye contact. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1973 American Psychological Association.