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Mental-state attribution drives rapid, reflexive gaze following
Christoph Teufel1, Dean M Alexis, Nicola S Clayton
1University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England. crt35@cam.ac.uk
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics
|March 30, 2010
Summary
Gaze following, or attention shifting to where a face looks, is influenced by whether observers believe the face can see. This suggests mental state attribution controls even reflexive gaze responses.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Neuroscience
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Gaze following is the shift of attention to where a face is looking.
- Previous research debated whether gaze following is a cognitive process (theory of mind) or a reflexive response to physical cues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of perceived visual access in controlling reflexive gaze following.
- To reconcile conflicting findings on the mechanisms underlying gaze following.
Main Methods:
- Modified the gaze-cuing paradigm with a deception procedure.
- Used prerecorded videos of a model wearing either transparent or opaque goggles.
- Manipulated observers' belief about the model's ability to see.
Main Results:
- Reflexive gaze following occurred when observers believed the model could see (transparent goggles).
- Gaze following was significantly reduced when observers believed the model could not see (opaque goggles).
Conclusions:
- The attribution of the mental state of 'seeing' influences gaze following, even when the response appears reflexive.
- Perceptual access, not just physical features, is crucial for triggering gaze following.
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