Need‐fulfillment and consistency theory: Relationships between self‐esteem and eye contact

Subjects’ duration of eye contact was measured while they received either complimentary or critical feedback messages from an interviewer. Eye contact scores were treated by a 3 X 2 [self esteem level X feedback condition] analysis of variance which revealed a significant interaction effect between self‐esteem and feedback condition. Results are discussed in terms of eye contact, need‐fulfillment theory, consistency theory and methodological implications.

Notes

Mr. Greene is a Ph.D. Candidate in Communication Arts, University of Wisconsin‐Madison. Mr. Frandsen is Professor of Speech Communication, Pennsylvania State University. This article is based on Mr. Greene's thesis completed under the direction of Mr. Frandsen.