Everyday mind reading: The effect of eye gaze behavior on empathic accuracy and the differences between males and females

Empathic accuracy and eye contact form the foundation of everyday human social interaction. Here, the association between the duration of eye gaze fixation of the perceiver on the eye region of the target and the level of empathic accuracy when presented with dynamic emotional video stimuli was examined and it was determined whether gender plays a role in this association. In this study, 110 participants had their gaze behavior tracked while watching ten 180-seconds during videoclips of strangers telling an emotional autobiographical story. Participants had to rate the target’s feelings at the moment of recording the videoclip and their own feelings. It was hypothesized that people that spend more time fixating on the eye region of strangers have a higher level of empathic accuracy than people that spend less time fixating on the eye region of strangers and that this relationship differs between males and females. Linear regression analyses did not reveal significant evidence for a...Show moreEmpathic accuracy and eye contact form the foundation of everyday human social interaction. Here, the association between the duration of eye gaze fixation of the perceiver on the eye region of the target and the level of empathic accuracy when presented with dynamic emotional video stimuli was examined and it was determined whether gender plays a role in this association. In this study, 110 participants had their gaze behavior tracked while watching ten 180-seconds during videoclips of strangers telling an emotional autobiographical story. Participants had to rate the target’s feelings at the moment of recording the videoclip and their own feelings. It was hypothesized that people that spend more time fixating on the eye region of strangers have a higher level of empathic accuracy than people that spend less time fixating on the eye region of strangers and that this relationship differs between males and females. Linear regression analyses did not reveal significant evidence for a relationship between eye gaze behavior and empathic accuracy that is moderated by gender. Gaining more insight in the topic of eye gaze behavior, gender and empathic accuracy is still so valuable for the improvement in treatment for empathy-related difficulties and atypical gaze patterns that some individuals have to deal with in their daily life.Show less

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Everyday mind reading: The effect of eye gaze behavior on empathic accuracy and the differences between males and females