Abstract
This experiment investigated whether eye contact would evoke similar attention and emotion related psychophysiological responses in virtual reality (VR) as in a face-to-face interaction. Participants viewed a confederate in a live interaction (Live condition) and a confederate's avatar in VR (VR condition). In both conditions, the confederate/avatar was portraying direct and laterally averted gaze. Heart rate deceleration responses reflecting attention orienting were greater to direct gaze compared to averted gaze, and the effect was not significantly different between Live and VR conditions. However, skin conductance responses reflecting physiological arousal were larger in response to direct than averted gaze only in the Live condition. These results suggest that while eye contact with a live person evokes substantial attention and emotion related psychophysiological responses, the physiological effects of eye contact are diminished in VR.
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