Variations in the Appearance and Interpretation of Interpersonal Eye Contact in Social Categorizations and Psychiatric Populations Worldwide: A Scoping Review with a Critical Appraisal of the Literature

Abstract

Background: Eye contact is one of the most fundamental forms of interhuman communication. However, to date, there has been no comprehensive research comparing how eye contact is made and interpreted in all possible populations worldwide. This study presents a summary of the existing literature on these modalities stratified to social categorizations and psychiatric disorders. Method: A scoping review with critical appraisal of the literature according to the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. Databases AnthroSource, Medline, CINAHL, the Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCO) and PsychInfo were searched. Results: 7068 articles were screened for both the grey literature and reference lists, of which 385 were included, 282 for social categorizations and 103 for psychiatric disorders. In total, 603 thematic clustered outcomes of variations were included. Methodological quality was generally moderate to good. Conclusions: There is a great degree of variation in the presentation and interpretation of eye contact between and within populations. It remains unclear why specific variations occur in populations. Additionally, no gold standard for how eye contact should be used or interpreted emerged from the studies. Further research into the reason for differences in eye contact between and within populations is recommended.