Averting the gaze disengages the environment and facilitates remembering

Abstract

When people are asked moderately difficult questions, they often avert their gazes. Wereport five experiments in which we documented this phenomenon. They demonstrate that (I) the frequency of gaze aversion is related to the difficulty of cognitive processing, (2) this behavior cannot be due solely to demand characteristics or embarrassment, and (3) the behavior is functional: Avertingthe gaze improves performance. Wespeculate that averting the gaze helps people to disengage from environmental stimulation and thereby enhances the efficiency of cognitive processing directed by nonenvironmental stimulation. 651There is a secret bond between slowness and memory, between speed and forgetting. Consider this utterly commonplace situation: a man is walking down the street. At a certain moment, he tries to recall something, but the recollection escapes him. Automatically, he slows down.-Milan Kundera, Slowness (1996, p. 39) What is behind Kundera's commonplace observation? Our research suggests an answer: When engaged in difficult cognitive activity, we close our eyes or look at the sky to suppress the environment's control over cognition. Because information from the environment is suppressed, we slow down and stop walking to avoid hurting ourselves. In the five experiments reported here, we document behaviors associated with moderately difficult remembering-namely, averting the gaze by closing the eyes, covering the eyes, or looking at a uniform field such as the floor, ceiling, or sky. In Experiments 1 and 2, we demonstrate that the frequency of gaze aversion is correlated with difficulty of the autobiographical (Experiment 1) or general knowledge (Experiment 2) questions asked. In Experiment 3, we showed that people avert their gaze even when social cues are eliminated. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrate that this form of behavior is functional; that is, the behavior is causally related to improvements in performance.Why might people engage in gaze aversion? The phenomenon is predicted from an analysis ofmemory reported in Glenberg (1997). Glenberg proposes that memory evolved in the service ofaction, and that potential patterns ofaction are the basis of meaning and conceptualization.

Brief Report: Patterns of Eye Movements in Face to Face Conversation are Associated with Autistic Traits: Evidence from a Student Sample

“…A greater proportion of time looking to the face was observed when participants were listening to the social partner speak -84.5% compared to when participants were speaking themselves -54.9%. Consistent with previous research (DohertySneddon et al; Glenberg et al, 1998), this potentially occurred due to speaking being more cognitively demanding than listening with gaze aversion serving as means to reduce processing costs of potentially distracting or resource demanding visual social signals.…”

“…It has previously been demonstrated that individuals use gaze aversion when processing cognitively demanding information (Doherty-Sneddon et al, 2002;Doherty-Sneddon & Phelps, 2005;Glenberg et al, 1998). In a social interaction people show little gaze aversion when they are listening to another person speak, rather gaze aversion predominantly occurs when people are thinking about a response and when they are speaking (Doherty-Sneddon et al, 2002;Glenberg et al, 1998). The current experiment had two phases: when participants were speaking and when participants were listening.…”

Initiating technical refinements in high‐level golfers: Evidence for contradictory procedures

“…Glenberg et al, 1998). In short, the athlete does not perceive the required differences as quickly and so imitation is less obvious.…”

“…In considering the research of Glenberg, Schroeder, and Robertson (1998), executing golf shots into a net should be an obvious procedure for achieving de-automation. Indeed, detaching oneself from external surroundings is a natural strategy employed when the intended goal requires high levels of reflection.…”

A field evaluation of the Eye-Closure Interview with witnesses of serious crimes.

“…Indeed, Glenberg et al (1998) found that people avert their gaze more when answering more difficult general-knowledge questions, and when retrieving events that happened longer ago.…”