eye contact

a direct look exchanged between two people who are interacting. Maintaining eye contact is considered essential to communication between therapist and client during face-to-face interviews. Social psychological studies of eye contact generally find that people look more at the other person when listening to that person than when they themselves are talking; that people tend to avoid eye contact when they are embarrassed; and that the more intimate the relationship, the greater the eye contact. Also called mutual gaze.

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Psychology term of the day

May 9th 2024

agape

n. a complex form of love involving feelings of tenderness; protectiveness; self-denial; and aesthetic preference for the features, gestures, speech, and other traits of a person. The term, which derives from a Greek word meaning “brotherly love,” is sometimes used to denote an unselfish love as taught by such religious figures as Jesus and the Buddha.