No evidence that gaze anxiety predicts gaze avoidance behavior during face-to-face social interaction.

Eye contact is an indispensable social signal, yet for some individuals it is also a source of discomfort they fear and avoid. However, it is still unknown whether gaze anxiety actually produces avoidant gaze behavior in naturalistic, face-to-face interactions. Here, we relied on a novel dual eye-tracking setup that allows us to assess interactive gaze behavior. To investigate the effect of gaze anxiety on gaze behavior, we a priori created groups of participants reporting high or low levels of gaze anxiety. These participants (n = 51) then performed a semi-standardized interaction with a previously unknown individual reporting a medium level of gaze anxiety. The gaze behavior of both groups did not differ in either classical one-way, eye-tracking parameters (e.g. unilateral eye gaze), or interactive, two-way ones (e.g. mutual gaze). Furthermore, the subjective ratings of both participants' interaction did not differ between groups. Gaze anxious individuals seem to exhibit normal gaze behavior which does not hamper the perceived quality of interactions in a naturalistic face-to-face setup. Our findings point to the existence of cognitive distortions in gaze anxious individuals whose exterior behavior might be less affected than feared by their interior anxiety.

Evaluation of an eye tracking setup for studying visual attention in face-to-face conversations.

Many eye tracking studies use facial stimuli presented on a display to investigate attentional processing of social stimuli. To introduce a more realistic approach that allows interaction between two real people, we evaluated a new eye tracking setup in three independent studies in terms of data quality, short-term reliability and feasibility. Study 1 measured the robustness, precision and accuracy for calibration stimuli compared to a classical display-based setup. Study 2 used the identical measures with an independent study sample to compare the data quality for a photograph of a face (2D) and the face of the real person (3D). Study 3 evaluated data quality over the course of a real face-to-face conversation and examined the gaze behavior on the facial features of the conversation partner. Study 1 provides evidence that quality indices for the scene-based setup were comparable to those of a classical display-based setup. Average accuracy was better than 0.4° visual angle. Study 2 demonstrates that eye tracking quality is sufficient for 3D stimuli and robust against short interruptions without re-calibration. Study 3 confirms the long-term stability of tracking accuracy during a face-to-face interaction and demonstrates typical gaze patterns for facial features. Thus, the eye tracking setup presented here seems feasible for studying gaze behavior in dyadic face-to-face interactions. Eye tracking data obtained with this setup achieves an accuracy that is sufficient for investigating behavior such as eye contact in social interactions in a range of populations including clinical conditions, such as autism spectrum and social phobia.