1887
  1. Home
  2. e-Journals
  3. Interaction Studies
  4. Volume 25, Issue 2
  5. Article
Volume 25, Issue 2
  • ISSN 1572-0373
  • E-ISSN: 1572-0381
USD
Buy:$35.00 + Taxes

Abstract

Abstract

Eye contact constitutes a strong social signal in humans and affects various attentional processes. However, eye contact with another human evokes different responses compared with a direct gaze of an image on a screen. The question of interest is whether this holds also for eye contact with a robot. Previous experiments with physically present iCub humanoid robot showed that eye contact affects participants’ orienting of attention. In the present study, we investigated whether a robot’s eye contact on the screen could show similar effects. Specifically, in two experiments we examined the impact of eye contact on the gaze-cueing effect (orienting of attention in response to a directional gaze shift) while we varied the timing of the events within a trial sequence. Our results showed that the robot’s eye contact did not modulate the gaze-cueing effect (gaze-cueing effect present in all conditions), thereby suggesting that eye contact gaze presented in a 2D format on the screen has less impact on observers than its 3D embodied version in a physically present robot. Overall, our findings stress the importance of embodied interactions for understanding the mechanisms of social cognition.

© 2024 John Benjamins Publishing Company
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1075/is.22060.kom
2025-02-07
2025-11-10

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/10.1075/is.22060.kom
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Journal -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Abubshait, A., Weis, P., & Wiese, E.
    (2018) Effects of embodiment on social attention mechanisms in human-robot interaction. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 121, 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2018.227.00080
     https://doi.org/10.3389/conf.fnhum.2018.227.00080 [Google Scholar]
  2. Admoni, H., & Scassellati, B.
    (2017) Social eye gaze in human-robot interaction: a review. Journal of Human-Robot Interaction, 6(1), 25–63, 10.5898/JHRI.6.1.Admoni
     https://doi.org/10.5898/JHRI.6.1.Admoni [Google Scholar]
  3. Belkaid, M., Kompatsiari, K., De Tommaso, D., Zablith, I., & Wykowska, A.
    (2021) Mutual gaze with a robot affects human neural activity and delays decision-making processes. Science Robotics, 6(58), 10.1126/scirobotics.abc5044
     https://doi.org/10.1126/scirobotics.abc5044 [Google Scholar]
  4. Cabibihan, J. J., Javed, H., Ang, M., & Aljunied, S. M.
    (2013) Why robots? A survey on the roles and benefits of social robots in the therapy of children with autism. International journal of social robotics, 5(4), 593–618, 10.1007/s12369‑013‑0202‑2
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-013-0202-2 [Google Scholar]
  5. Chen, Z., McCrackin, S. D., Morgan, A., & Itier, R. J.
    (2021) The gaze cueing effect and its enhancement by facial expressions are impacted by task demands: direct comparison of target localization and discrimination tasks. Frontiers in Psychology, 121, 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.618606
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.618606 [Google Scholar]
  6. Chevalier, P., Kompatsiari, K., Ciardo, F., & Wykowska, A.
    (2020) Examining joint attention with the use of humanoid robots-A new approach to study fundamental mechanisms of social cognition. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 1–20, 10.3758/s13423‑019‑01689‑4
     https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-019-01689-4 [Google Scholar]
  7. Ciardo, F., & Wykowska, A.
    (2020) La robotica assistenziale sociale come strumento per promuovere lo sviluppo socio-cognitivo: vantaggi, limiti e prospettive future. Sistemi intelligenti, 32(1), 9–25, 10.1422/96277
     https://doi.org/10.1422/96277 [Google Scholar]
  8. (2022) Robot’s Social Gaze Affects Conflict Resolution but not Conflict Adaptations. Journal of Cognition, 5(1), 2, 10.5334/joc.189
     https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.189 [Google Scholar]
  9. Conty, L., George, N., & Hietanen, J. K.
    (2016) Watching eyes effects: When others meet the self. Consciousness and cognition, 451, 184–197, 10.1016/j.concog.2016.08.016
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2016.08.016 [Google Scholar]
  10. Cousineau, D.
    (2005) Confidence intervals in within-subject designs: A simpler solution to Loftus and Masson’s method. Tutorials in quantitative methods for psychology, 1(1), 42–45, 10.20982/tqmp.01.1.p042
     https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.01.1.p042 [Google Scholar]
  11. Dalmaso, M., Castelli, L., & Galfano, G.
    (2021) Increased gaze cueing of attention during COVID-19 lockdown. Iscience, 24(11), 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103283
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.103283 [Google Scholar]
  12. Davidson, R. J.
    (2004) What does the prefrontal cortex “do” in affect: perspectives on frontal EEG asymmetry research. Biological psychology, 67(1–2), 219–234, 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.03.008
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2004.03.008 [Google Scholar]
  13. Driver IV, J., Davis, G., Ricciardelli, P., Kidd, P., Maxwell, E., & Baron-Cohen, S.
    (1999) Gaze perception triggers reflexive visuospatial orienting. Visual cognition, 6(5), 509–540, 10.1080/135062899394920
     https://doi.org/10.1080/135062899394920 [Google Scholar]
  14. Edwards, S. G., Stephenson, L. J., Dalmaso, M., & Bayliss, A. P.
    (2015) Social orienting in gaze leading: a mechanism for shared attention. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282(1812), 10.1098/rspb.2015.1141
     https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1141 [Google Scholar]
  15. Emery, N. J.
    (2000) The eyes have it: the neuroethology, function and evolution of social gaze. Neuroscience & biobehavioral reviews, 24(6), 581–604, 10.1016/S0149‑7634(00)00025‑7
     https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-7634(00)00025-7 [Google Scholar]
  16. Friesen, C. K., & Kingstone, A.
    (1998) The eyes have it! Reflexive orienting is triggered by nonpredictive gaze. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 5(3), 490–495, 10.3758/BF03208827
     https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03208827 [Google Scholar]
  17. Frischen, A., Bayliss, A. P., & Tipper, S. P.
    (2007) Gaze cueing of attention: visual attention, social cognition, and individual differences. Psychological bulletin, 133(4), 694, 10.1037/0033‑2909.133.4.694
     https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.4.694 [Google Scholar]
  18. Ghiglino, D., Chevalier, P., Floris, F., Priolo, T., & Wykowska, A.
    (2021) Follow the white robot: Efficacy of robot-assistive training for children with autism spectrum disorder. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 861, 101822, 10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101822
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101822 [Google Scholar]
  19. Hamilton, A. F. D. C.
    (2016) Gazing at me: the importance of social meaning in understanding direct-gaze cues. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1686), 10.1098/rstb.2015.0080
     https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0080 [Google Scholar]
  20. Harmon-Jones, E.
    (2003) Clarifying the emotive functions of asymmetrical frontal cortical activity. Psychophysiology, 40(6), 838–848, 10.1111/1469‑8986.00121
     https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8986.00121 [Google Scholar]
  21. Hietanen, J. K., Leppänen, J. M., Peltola, M. J., Linna-Aho, K., & Ruuhiala, H. J.
    (2008) Seeing direct and averted gaze activates the approach–avoidance motivational brain systems. Neuropsychologia, 46(9), 2423–2430, 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.02.029
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.02.029 [Google Scholar]
  22. Hietanen, J. K., Myllyneva, A., Helminen, T. M., & Lyyra, P.
    (2016) The effects of genuine eye contact on visuospatial and selective attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145(9), 1102, 10.1037/xge0000199
     https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000199 [Google Scholar]
  23. Kajopoulos, J., Cheng, G., Kise, K., Müller, H. J., & Wykowska, A.
    (2021) Focusing on the face or getting distracted by social signals? The effect of distracting gestures on attentional focus in natural interaction. Psychological Research, 85(2), 491–502, 10.1007/s00426‑020‑01383‑4
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426-020-01383-4 [Google Scholar]
  24. Kiilavuori, H., Sariola, V., Peltola, M. J., & Hietanen, J. K.
    (2021) Making eye contact with a robot: Psychophysiological responses to eye contact with a human and with a humanoid robot. Biological Psychology, 1581, 107989, 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107989
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107989 [Google Scholar]
  25. Kompatsiari, K., Ciardo, F., Tikhanoff, V., Metta, G., & Wykowska, A.
    (2018) On the role of eye contact in gaze cueing. Scientific reports, 8(1), 1–10, 10.1038/s41598‑018‑36136‑2
     https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-36136-2 [Google Scholar]
  26. Kompatsiari, K., Pérez-Osorio, J., De Tommaso, D., Metta, G., & Wykowska, A.
    (2018, October). Neuroscientifically-grounded research for improved human-robot interaction. In2018 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) (pp.3403–3408), 10.1109/IROS.2018.8594441
     https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2018.8594441 [Google Scholar]
  27. Kompatsiari, K., Bossi, F., & Wykowska, A.
    (2021) Eye contact during joint attention with a humanoid robot modulates oscillatory brain activity. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 16(4), 383–392, 10.1093/scan/nsab001
     https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsab001 [Google Scholar]
  28. Kompatsiari, K., Ciardo, F., & Wykowska, A.
    (2022) To follow or not to follow your gaze: The interplay between strategic control and the eye contact effect on gaze-induced attention orienting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. Advance online publication. 10.1037/xge0001074
     https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001074 [Google Scholar]
  29. Kuhn, G., Vacaityte, I., D’Souza, A. D., Millett, A. C., & Cole, G. G.
    (2018) Mental states modulate gaze following, but not automatically. Cognition, 1801, 1–9. 10.1016/j.cognition.2018.05.020
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2018.05.020 [Google Scholar]
  30. Lachat, F., Hugueville, L., Lemaréchal, J. D., Conty, L., & George, N.
    (2012) Oscillatory brain correlates of live joint attention: a dual-EEG study. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 61, 156. 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00156
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00156 [Google Scholar]
  31. Macrae, C. N., Hood, B. M., Milne, A. B., Rowe, A. C., & Mason, M. F.
    (2002) Are you looking at me? Eye gaze and person perception. Psychological science, 13(5), 460–464, 10.1111/1467‑9280.00481
     https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00481 [Google Scholar]
  32. McCrackin, S. D., & Itier, R. J.
    (2019) Perceived gaze direction differentially affects discrimination of facial emotion, attention, and gender–An ERP study. Frontiers in neuroscience, 131, 517, 10.3389/fnins.2019.00517
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2019.00517 [Google Scholar]
  33. Metta, G., Natale, L., Nori, F., Sandini, G., Vernon, D., Fadiga, L., … & Montesano, L.
    (2010) The iCub humanoid robot: An open-systems platform for research in cognitive development. Neural networks, 23(8–9), 1125–1134, 10.1016/j.neunet.2010.08.010
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neunet.2010.08.010 [Google Scholar]
  34. Pan, X., & Hamilton, A. F. D. C.
    (2018) Why and how to use virtual reality to study human social interaction: The challenges of exploring a new research landscape. British Journal of Psychology, 109(3), 395–417, 10.1111/bjop.12290
     https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12290 [Google Scholar]
  35. Peirce, J., Gray, J. R., Simpson, S., MacAskill, M., Höchenberger, R., Sogo, H., … & Lindeløv, J. K.
    (2019) PsychoPy2: Experiments in behavior made easy. Behavior research methods, 51(1), 195–203, 10.3758/s13428‑018‑01193‑y
     https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-018-01193-y [Google Scholar]
  36. Pönkänen, L. M., Peltola, M. J., & Hietanen, J. K.
    (2011) The observer observed: Frontal EEG asymmetry and autonomic responses differentiate between another person’s direct and averted gaze when the face is seen live. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 82(2), 180–187, 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.08.006
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2011.08.006 [Google Scholar]
  37. Posner, M. I.
    (1980) Orienting of attention. Quarterly journal of experimental psychology, 32(1), 3–25, 10.1080/00335558008248231
     https://doi.org/10.1080/00335558008248231 [Google Scholar]
  38. Prinsen, J., & Alaerts, K.
    (2019) Eye contact enhances interpersonal motor resonance: comparing video stimuli to a live two-person action context. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 14(9), 967–976, 10.1093/scan/nsz064
     https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsz064 [Google Scholar]
  39. Risko, E. F., Laidlaw, K. E., Freeth, M., Foulsham, T., & Kingstone, A.
    (2012) Social attention with real versus reel stimuli: toward an empirical approach to concerns about ecological validity. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 61, 143, 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00143
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2012.00143 [Google Scholar]
  40. Risko, E. F., Richardson, D. C., & Kingstone, A.
    (2016) Breaking the fourth wall of cognitive science: Real-world social attention and the dual function of gaze. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25(1), 70–74, 10.1177/0963721415617806
     https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721415617806 [Google Scholar]
  41. Schilbach, L., Timmermans, B., Reddy, V., Costall, A., Bente, G., Schlicht, T., & Vogeley, K.
    (2013) Toward a second-person neuroscience 1. Behavioral and brain sciences, 36(4), 393–414, 10.1017/S0140525X12000660
     https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X12000660 [Google Scholar]
  42. Schilbach, L.
    (2014) On the relationship of online and offline social cognition. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 81, 278, 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00278
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.00278 [Google Scholar]
  43. Senju, A., & Hasegawa, T.
    (2005) Direct gaze captures visuospatial attention. Visual cognition, 12(1), 127–144, 10.1080/13506280444000157
     https://doi.org/10.1080/13506280444000157 [Google Scholar]
  44. Senju, A., & Johnson, M. H.
    (2009) The eye contact effect: mechanisms and development. Trends in cognitive sciences, 13(3), 127–134, 10.1016/j.tics.2008.11.009
     https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2008.11.009 [Google Scholar]
  45. Stroop, J. R.
    (1935) Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of experimental psychology, 18(6), 643, 10.1037/h0054651
     https://doi.org/10.1037/h0054651 [Google Scholar]
  46. Team, J. A. S. P.
    (2016) Jasp. Version 0.8. 0.0. software.
     [Google Scholar]
  47. Varela, F. J., Rosch, E., & Thompson, E.
    (1992) The embodied mind: Cognitive science and human experience. MIT press, 10.7551/mitpress/6730.001.0001
     https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/6730.001.0001 [Google Scholar]
  48. Wagenmakers, E. J.
    (2007) A practical solution to the pervasive problems of p values. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 14(5), 779–804, 10.3758/BF03194105
     https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194105 [Google Scholar]
  49. Wiese, E., Wykowska, A., Zwickel, J., & Müller, H. J.
    (2012) I see what you mean: How attentional selection is shaped by ascribing intentions to others. PLoS ONE, 71, e45391, 10.1371/journal.pone.0045391
     https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0045391 [Google Scholar]
  50. Wiese, E., Zwickel, J., & Müller, H. J.
    (2013) The importance of context information for the spatial specificity of gaze cueing. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 75(5), 967–982, 10.3758/s13414‑013‑0444‑y
     https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-013-0444-y [Google Scholar]
  51. Wiese, E., Metta, G., & Wykowska, A.
    (2017) Robots as intentional agents: using neuroscientific methods to make robots appear more social. Frontiers in psychology, 81, 1663, 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01663
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01663 [Google Scholar]
  52. Wykowska, A., Wiese, E., Prosser, A., & Müller, H. J.
    (2014) Beliefs about the minds of others influence how we process sensory information. PloS one, 9(4), 10.1371/journal.pone.0094339
     https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0094339 [Google Scholar]
  53. Wykowska, A., Kajopoulos, J., Ramirez-Amaro, K., & Cheng, G.
    (2015) Autistic traits and sensitivity to human-like features of robot behavior. Interaction Studies, 16(2), 219–248. 10.1075/is.16.2.09wyk
     https://doi.org/10.1075/is.16.2.09wyk [Google Scholar]
  54. Wykowska, A., Chaminade, T., & Cheng, G.
    (2016) Embodied artificial agents for understanding human social cognition. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1693), 20150375, 10.1098/rstb.2015.0375
     https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0375 [Google Scholar]
  55. Wykowska, A.
    (2020) Social robots to test flexibility of human social cognition. International Journal of Social Robotics, 12(6), 1203–1211, 10.1007/s12369‑020‑00674‑5
     https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-020-00674-5 [Google Scholar]
  56. Xu, S., Zhang, S., & Geng, H.
    (2018) The effect of eye contact is contingent on visual awareness. Frontiers in psychology, 91, 93, 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00093
     https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00093 [Google Scholar]
  57. Zhang, X., Dalmaso, M., Galfano, G., & Castelli, L.
    (2022) Tuning social modulations of gaze cueing via contextual factors. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 1–7.2, 10.3758/s13423‑022‑02211‑z
     https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-022-02211-z [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1075/is.22060.kom
Loading
Embodiment matters when establishing eye contact with a robot
Interaction Studies 25, 167 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1075/is.22060.kom
/content/journals/10.1075/is.22060.kom
/content/journals/10.1075/is.22060.kom
Loading

Data & Media loading...

  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): attention orienting; eye contact; gaze cueing; human-robot interaction; joint attention

Most Cited

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was successful
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error