Humans look at faces and eyes during communication to extract social and emotional cues
the verdict
SUPPORTED
the evidence backs this
confidence 89/100
Extensive empirical research demonstrates that humans naturally look at faces and eyes during communication to decode social intentions and emotional cues.
Evidence for · 8
The Role of Eye Gaze During Natural Social Interactions in Typical and Autistic People
2019 · cited by 151
Highlights gaze and facial expressions as primary social signals utilized during natural interpersonal communication.
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More for · 7
Gaze Behavior Consistency among Older and Younger Adults When Looking at Emotional Faces
2017 · cited by 40
Demonstrates that humans actively direct their gaze toward specific facial regions, such as the eyes and lower face, to process emotional signals.
Does dynamic information about the speaker's face contribute to semantic speech processing? ERP evidence.
2018 · cited by 16
Shows that facial and eye dynamics provide important visual cues that are integrated during speech processing.
Faces and Voices Processing in Human and Primate Brains: Rhythmic and Multimodal Mechanisms Underlying the Evolution and Development of Speech
2022 · cited by 10
Identifies specific neural pathways dedicated to processing dynamic social features such as eye gaze and facial expressions.
Eye gaze as a cue for recognizing intention and coordinating joint action
2018 · cited by 5
Examines how humans are highly sensitive to eye gaze as a compelling social signal used to coordinate interaction and infer intention.
Dynamic modulation of social gaze by sex and familiarity in marmoset dyads.
2026 · cited by 1
Notes that social communication relies heavily on perceiving head orientation and gaze direction to interpret attention.
Social attention is enhanced by facial emotions even for occluded faces.
2026 · cited by 1
Finds that eye gaze produces robust cueing effects that are further enhanced by emotional facial expressions.
The right eye for fixations: Eye asymmetries modulate gaze patterns towards speakers.
2026 · cited by 0
Confirms that dialog partners primarily focus on the eyes during face-to-face social interactions to serve a communicative function.