The influence of social anxiety on gaze behavior in children during a face-to-face conversation

Social anxiety is typically characterized by a persistent fear of negative evaluation and rejection, often leading to avoidance of social situations. Research indicates that socially anxious individuals tend to interpret social feedback negatively, leading to cognitive biases and behavioral responses such as gaze avoidance. Extensive research on gaze behavior in social anxiety has predominantly focused on adults, resulting in a relative paucity of studies examining these phenomena in children. This study aims to investigate if social anxiety affects children's gaze behavior during a face-to-face conversation and whether this potential relationship is influenced by the conversational role (speaking vs. listening). To this end, a total of 21 participants aged 9-10 engaged in a face-to-face conversation with a young, female confederate, where participants and the confederate took turns answering a series of given questions. Participants’ eye movements were tracked using Tobii Pro eye...Show moreSocial anxiety is typically characterized by a persistent fear of negative evaluation and rejection, often leading to avoidance of social situations. Research indicates that socially anxious individuals tend to interpret social feedback negatively, leading to cognitive biases and behavioral responses such as gaze avoidance. Extensive research on gaze behavior in social anxiety has predominantly focused on adults, resulting in a relative paucity of studies examining these phenomena in children. This study aims to investigate if social anxiety affects children's gaze behavior during a face-to-face conversation and whether this potential relationship is influenced by the conversational role (speaking vs. listening). To this end, a total of 21 participants aged 9-10 engaged in a face-to-face conversation with a young, female confederate, where participants and the confederate took turns answering a series of given questions. Participants’ eye movements were tracked using Tobii Pro eye-tracking glasses. Social anxiety was assessed with the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C). Fixation durations on the confederate’s facial regions, namely eyes, nose and mouth were extracted. The analyses revealed that, despite the expectations, social anxiety did not associate with gaze avoidance of the three facial regions. Neither did the interaction of the conversational role. However, children in general looked more at their conversation partner’s nose while speaking compared to listening. Further research should consider larger sample sizes, different confederates and varying conversational topics for the deeper investigation of the impact of social anxiety on children in naturalistic settings.Show less

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The influence of social anxiety on gaze behavior in children during a face-to-face conversation