Differences in the perception of direct gaze between the externally and internally rotated eye

Abstract

The perception of direct gaze provides multiple benefits for the observer. Previous studies have investigated how the information from both eyes is used to estimate gaze direction, showing that the perception of gaze direction differs when only the externally rotated eye versus only the internally rotated eye is visible. We examined the width and center of the area of direct gaze by presenting the observers with either the externally or internally rotated eye, or both eyes with the task to judge whether a computer avatar is looking at them. Two experiments yield evidence for a wider area of direct gaze for the externally rotated eye (around 6°) than for the internally rotated eye (around 4°). The area of direct gaze for both eyes was found to be the same as for the internally rotated eye, but smaller than for the externally rotated eye. When both eyes were present, our results indicate that the perception of direct gaze is more likely to follow the internally rotated eye. The discussion substantiates a new generalization that observers base their judgments on the more rotated eye, which can differ due to angle kappa and vergence, in our study it is the internally rotated eye.