Eye contact functions as a form of physical proximity between strangers.
Evidence
More recently Michael Argyle and Janet Dean (1965) have reported that eye contact serves a number of functions-one of the most important being a quest for feedback during social interaction, as well as a signaling that the communication channel is open. In addition, eye contact may be seen as a component of intimacy and is, in a significant way, the equivalent of physical proximity. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 1198
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- XREF: Feeds the reader’s Simmel-Lofland framing: if eye contact is proximity, then the urban rush to withhold the gaze is a way of holding space at a distance — a key mechanism in civil inattention.
Related
- Eye contact functions as the equivalent of physical proximity (similarity 0.93)
- Acquaintances need a reason to avoid engagement; strangers need a reason to engage (similarity 0.78)