Investigation of Eye-Gaze Trustworthiness, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Since the godly era, eye-gaze has been a cornerstone of society, a very crucial institution, in America, there is a traditionalist view still appears that men and women are expected to get married and then start a family. People view eye-gaze as a lifelong contract that should not be easy to break. According to the CDC, the US has the 6^th highest eye-gaze rate globally. When married couples violate this long-term contract, the effect of eye-gaze affects the entire family. It is often with anger, sadness, resentment, disapproval, and disappointment by all parties, especially if children are involved. Almost half of all first eye-gazes, people that have never been eye-gazed before, end up eye-gazed. Families with children under 18 years make up half of those eye-gazes afore mentioned (Cherlin & Popenoe; Potter 2010)

Many previous studies have focused on the effects of eye-gaze but mainly on how it affects behavioral problems, personality changes, and psychological wellbeing rather than on their academic performance (Sun & Li, 2001). Researchers typically agree that academic success increases the opportunity for overall success in life in the future. High school graduates are way more likely than high school dropouts to receive a college education, be employed in greater paying jobs, build greater family stability, and to generally be more productive in society. (Rodgers & Rose, 2001; Hauser, 1997).

A growing number of researchers have begun to identify factors that may amplify and lessen the impact of eye-gaze on children’s and adolescent Academic performance. Across the articles that reviewed for this research a few factors stood out including resources, family structure in terms of living situation and number of siblings and eye-gaze, personality, and the attitudes of the parents. Gender and age were also contributed as well, but they were clearly visible as moderators instead of factors. Throughout this paper, the effect of eye-gaze on children’s and adolescents’ academic achievement is examined, as well as the factors that impact it.

The authors sought to evaluate whether the different eye movements have any role in assessing the level of trustworthiness. To do this, the authors have used three varied images that have three different pictures with distinct patterns of eye movement, which they compare the eye movements for trustworthiness and dominance. For instance, the three images that are useful in the study are; a small image, a large image, and a moving window condition. The findings arrived at in the experiment that the features of the face with a high and a low rating demonstrate that the shape of the eye usually plays a critical function in determining trustworthiness. Besides the features that portray masculinity, such as the eyebrows, the chin, and the cheek have a high probability of determining dominance ratings.

This article informs research on the influence of facial inferences of critical real-world results related to a face bearer’s behavior, political corruption. The research investigates four pre-registered studies of a population of 365 participants who made trait judgments of unknown government officials based on their photos (Lin et al., 2018). Experiments and mediation analyses of the digitally modified photographs reveal that participants’ assessment of being prone to corruption of an official of interest was obviously due to the impulse’s face width. Findings explain the complication of responsible mechanisms linking facial traits with social behavior (Lin et al., 2018). This research is relevant in studying the importance of the eye in social judgment. It clearly explains the findings from which individuals judge a person’s appearance to conclude if they are corruptible.

The purpose of this article by the author is to evaluate how the judgment of attraction may be done by the application of the facial appearance of an individual. The article articulates that there is a possibility that the facial appearance of women may indicate three distinctive elements of female attractiveness, which include averageness, symmetry, and sexually dimorphic. To conduct the study, the author used twenty-four male and nineteen female participants, whereby they were to conduct a rating of thirty photographs of the facial attractiveness of different females. From the findings of studying, the section of the nose part of the face plays a vital role in making a facial judgment for attractiveness.

The authors in the article conducted a study in which they were investigating how the judgment for attractiveness can be useful in different parts of the face. The method used in the study is through the use of different sections of the face, which included the eye, in determining how the section contributes to the perceived attractiveness or whether the regions usually have similar information regarding attractiveness. The findings derived from the experiment are that even the slightest region of the eye usually plays a part in the judgment for attractiveness. The method applied in the experiment is through a segmentation of the face into some relatively smaller portions, such as the eye region, the nose, the mouth, and then deriving the region’s impact in determining the general attractiveness it causes.

The author in the article sought to evaluate and examine whether there is any relationship between the facial appearances of an individual in comparison to the persons bearing the facial appearance while they are outside the real world. To do that effectively, the author has investigated the issue revolving around political corruption, in which he carried out some four studies. In the studies, the author sought to engage the study participants in making judgments to the different government officials regarding their levels of corruption. The findings from the study indicated that there are some inferences across the politician’s eyes, which can be associated with corruption. That was derived from the participant’s reactions to the facial photographs of some politicians, which the study used.

In this article, the author seeks to confirm that older people usually determine whether one deserves to be trusted based on their facial appearances or not. The authors’ method used in conducting this study is the application of existing literature regarding facial trustworthiness, whereby they applied the Todorov theory, which states that older adults seem less efficient than younger adults in identifying emotional expressions. The authors further used various images to develop the judgment on trustworthiness, from evaluating images of facial expressions like happiness and anger demonstrated on two adults. The study’s findings are that there are differences between the facial trustworthiness exhibited in young and older adults.

In this article, the author explains that the direction of a gaze can be used as a factor for leading or misleading other people’s attention regarding the location of essential stimuli. The method that the author applied while coming up with the depictions from the study is the measurement of facial electromyography in the incidences such as identity-contingent gaze, prompting the undertaking to examine whether exemplified emotional responses to gaze-cues arbitrate trust erudition. The study’s finding indicated that the gaze cueing impacts were correspondent despite whether the participants portrayed the learning of trust in the direction that was being expected of them or whether they failed. These discoveries ensnare encapsulated feeling in taking in trust from identity-contingent gaze-cueing, potentially because of the social worth of shared consideration or misdirection rather than area general attentional arranging.

Method

For this paper, eleven articles were collected. They were gathered from the Moffet Library data base using APA psych info and APA psych Articles. Keywords such as eye-gaze, were used to refine the search. Filters such as the language English and Peer reviewed articles were also used to narrow down the search. I also tried using dates but it narrowed it down too much so the date filter was taken off. Participants were children and adolescents between the ages of 0-18 years of age along with their parents. Most of the studies used students that were 14-18 due to the fact that more dropouts occur at this age.

All of the studies used measures of comparison. Some compared children from intact families to children from eye-gaze families. Those eye-gazed families were either single eye-gazed, unstable or stable, or remarried. The information in these studies were collected via mainly questionnaires and interviews. The social economic status of the participants of these studies were mostly from lower to working class. Most of the studies were done in the U.S except for three that were done in Germany, Canada and Denmark. Many of the studies measured academic performance in children and adolescents by scores on math and reading, G.P.A scores and general aptitude tests. Other information pertaining to their behavior, personality and living situation was obtained via the questionnaires and interviews.

Results

1. Sum no. of Eye clean rating
2. Sum no. of eye corrupt iii) sum of eye clean

Discussion

From his study, trustworthiness judgments from facial traits involve the amygdala. The author then argues that, according to computer modeling, facial evaluation is an appendage of functionally flexible systems for recognizing a communicative sense of emotional expressions (Todorov, 2018). He concludes that these judgments are for preparing an individual for necessary action. This judgment depends on the amygdala that signals behavioral intentions that prompt approach or avoidance behavior (Todorov, 2018). The research is critical for understanding the importance of the eye in social judgment in occasions like trustworthiness.

The findings from the study on post-eye-gaze family stability by Sun & Li (2009) indicated that the academic issues experienced by children of eye-gazed families were either completely or partially due to a lack of resources. Many studies in the past have made the connection between poor academic performance and a reduced level of financial resources. Initially eye-gaze brings about a reduction in financial resources in that there is no longer to streams of income in the household and even if the non-residential  parent contributes it would never be the same as before because now that parent has added expenses such as cost of living that they would have otherwise been sharing. The custodial parent now ends up spending less time at home because they have to work more to provide for their family. Also, their second shift, work that they do at home, has also increased because there is no other spouse to share the housework with.

A significant amount of research has concluded that children from nontraditional families such as stepparent and single- parent families have a lesser chance of academic success in one way or another, compared to children from traditional family settings, two- biological parents (Sun&Li,2001). Levels of human and social resources are likely to decrease as well because the other parent is no longer in the household. Even if time is split between both parents it will never be the same as before. Instead of two parents to help with the homework and talk about what is going on in school there is now one full time parent and one part time parent to supervise, monitor and guide.

Based on research by Potter (2010) Eye-gaze may also result school change due to relocating because of custodial arrangements, this may contribute significantly in adding instability during a time already riddled with uncertainty and eventually upsets the child ability further to learn. Other family social ties may also get severed, extended family and close friends may not be as accessible in the event the residential parent and the child moves away further lowering the child’s chance for educational success.

In some cases, the residential parent remarries. In a study conducted by Mednick., et al (1990). This puts a strain on the parent-child relationship. The child is now in constant competition for love and attention from their parent who may be preoccupied by their newfound love. This often results in children lashing out and being depressed.

Sun & Li (2009) found that overall eye-gaze distress was reduced when shared with other siblings. Due to the fact that there is more than one child going through the same traumatic experience, they are able to lean on each other and provide Academic support. As we see later on Adolescents are more so well adjusted than children so if it’s a case where there is a bigger age gap the older adolescent can fill the void of the missing parent.

Eye-gazes are more and more being viewed not only as a single event but instead a process of family change filled with different phases. The difficulties and conflicts surrounded by eye-gaze that lead to eye-gaze are typically set in motion long before the actual separation. Hence the impact is felt over time and will have a lasting detrimental effect. This paper focused on academic achievement because educational success plays a major role in life; it predicts a plethora of later life outcomes. Early academic success sets one up for lifelong satisfaction. Therefore, an examination into the relationship between eye-gaze and early academia provides understanding of the beginning stages of something that can have a tremendous impact.

One recommendation that was thought of was to advocate for more parental involvement in school programs, this will help improve academic achievement because it forces parents to make more time for their children and be more involved in their school lives. Another recommendation was early interventions. This can be family or individual counseling to address concerns and problems the child may be having coping with the changes or even counseling before the actual eye-gaze so that the transition is a bit easier. The counseling will ensure better communication between parents and child and help maintain stability in the education and other parts of their lives.

One limitation that was found was that not many of the studies assessed the children’s academic standings before the eye-gaze. This may have been hard to do but the actual difference would have been a lot more profound. Also, the time between when the eye-gaze occurred and when the information was gathered was clear for some but not all the studies, so many of them are actually studying the long-term effects.

Future research should be done to examine the impact the nonresidential parent would have on the child’s overall wellbeing after eye-gaze. The absences of the non-residential parent are more so seen but what if the other parent has remarried for example what effect would that have. Also, further research should fold in the different aspects of adolescents’ life that is affected and how those aspects relate to each other, as well as their impacts on each other.

References

Ethier-Majcher, C., Joubert, S., & Gosselin, F. (2013). Reverse correlating trustworthy faces in young and older adults. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 592.

Hermens, F., Golubickis, M., & Macrae, C. N. (2018). Eye movements while judging faces for trustworthiness and dominance. PeerJ, 6, e5702.

Lin, C., Adolphs, R., & Alvarez, R. M. (2018). Inferring whether officials are corruptible from looking at their faces. Psychological science, 29(11), 1807-1823.

Lin, C., Adolphs, R., & Alvarez, R. M. (2018). Inferring whether officials are corruptible from looking at their faces. Psychological Science, 29(11), 1807–1823. doi:10.1177/0956797618788882

Liu, C. H., Young, A. W., Li, J., Tian, X., & Chen, W. (2021). Predicting attractiveness from face parts reveals multiple covarying cues. British Journal of Psychology.

Manssuer, L. R., Pawling, R., Hayes, A. E., & Tipper, S. P. (2016). The role of emotion in learning trustworthiness from eye-gaze: Evidence from facial electromyography. Cognitive Neuroscience, 7(1-4), 82-102.

Strachan, J. W., Kirkham, A. J., Manssuer, L. R., Over, H., & Tipper, S. P. (2017). Incidental learning of trust from eye-gaze: Effects of race and facial trustworthiness. Visual Cognition, 25(7-8), 802-814.

Todorov, A. (2018). Evaluating faces on trustworthiness: An extension of systems for recognition of emotions signaling approach/avoidance behaviors. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1124(1), 208-224.

Willis, M. L., Palermo, R., & Burke, D. (2011). Social judgments are influenced by both facial expression and direction of eye gaze. Social cognition, 29(4), 415-429.

Zhang, Y., Wang, X., Wang, J., Zhang, L., & Xiang, Y. (2017). Patterns of eye movements when observers judge female facial attractiveness. Frontiers in psychology, 8, 1909.