Gaze, Mutual Gaze, and Proximity

Argyle and Dean (1965) found that there was more eye-contact between members of a dyad the further apart they were. This result was predicted from a theory to the effect that there is an equilibrium for intimacy, and that distance and eye contact can substitute for one another as signals for intimacy. In the present paper two experiments are reported which explore further the relations between distance, gaze and mutual gaze, and enable us to decide between alternative explanations of it. In the Argyle and Dean experiments, there was a continuously staring stooge, so the S's gaze and the amount of eye-contact were identical. The two sat at 90° to each other. For MF pairs the level of EC (eye-contact) was 30.5 % at 2', 50 % at 6', and 58 % at 10'; length of glance followed a similar pattern. The effect was less strong for MM and FF pairs. Goldberg, Kiesler and Collins (1969) carried out a similar experiment, using stooges who did not stare all the time, but adopted a more natural pattern of gaze; the subject and stooge sat directly facing, and MM pairs were used. Eye-contact was not recorded, but Ss gazed at the stooge for 35 % of the time at 2i/2', and 60 % of the time at 6'. Stephenson and Rutter (1970) suggested that these results could be due to observers recording more of S's non-eye-directed gazes as eyedirected when he is at a greater distance from the stooge. They carried out an experiment in which a stooge looked systematically at his partner's ear and shoulders, and found that more of these gazes were recorded as