Nonverbal communication in human interaction (II)

Reflecting cognitive activities

1. Both listeners and speakers have a tendency to avoid gazing at others when trying to process difficult or complex ideas. This averted gaze, which may include closing the eyes, reflects a shift in attention from external to internal matters, as well as an effort to exclude or interrupt external stimulation, such as that inherent in the processing of face-to-face social cues. People avoid gaze more on reflective questions than factual ones and on more difficult questions-more difficult in factual content or in terms of the length of the temporal search required.
2. Further more, when participants were required to answer factual questions, either with their eyes closed or while looking directly at the experimenter, performance was better in the eyes-closed condition, thus demonstrating the functional utility of excluding external stimulation while engaging in difficult cognitive activity.
   
3. Gaze aversion also benefits children on difficult cognitive tasks, largely by helping them manage the cognitive demands. The use of gaze aversion while answering challenging questions appears to be something that can be taught to very young children, resulting in superior performance.