The costs and benefits to memory when observing and experiencing live eye contact

ABSTRACT

Eye contact enhances memory for spoken words. The present research examined if a similar effect occurs when one observes rather than experiences eye contact, and whether the effect extends to situations where physical presence is eliminated (i.e., video-conferencing). In two studies a live investigator read words aloud while making eye contact with a participant, their partner, or neither individual (baseline); either in person (Experiment 1) or over Skype (Experiment 2). Replicating and extending previous work, experiencing eye contact improved word recognition. However, observing eye contact between a partner and the investigator resulted in a significant decline in memory performance only when experienced in person (Experiment 1). The results indicate that during a group-interaction, eye contact communicates for whom the message is intended, and this increases memory performance for the person who experiences eye contact, and decreases performance for the excluded individual when eye contact is observed in person.

KEYWORDS:

• Gaze
• eye contact
• interactive
• attention
• memory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada: [Grant Number Discovery Grant to AK]; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada: [Grant Number Insight Grant to AK].