Studies in human and non-human primates indicate that basic socio-cognitive operations are inherently linked to the power of gaze in capturing reflexively the attention of an observer. Although monkey studies indicate that the automatic tendency to follow the gaze of a conspecific is modulated by the leader-follower social status, evidence for such effects in humans is meager. Here, we used a gaze following paradigm where the directional gaze of right-or left-wing Italian political characters could influence the oculomotor behavior of ingroup or outgroup voters. We show that the gaze of Berlusconi, the right-wing leader currently dominating the Italian political landscape, potentiates and inhibits gaze following behavior in ingroup and outgroup voters, respectively. Importantly, the higher the perceived similarity in personality traits between voters and Berlusconi, the stronger the gaze interference effect. Thus, higher-order social variables such as political leadership and affiliation prepotently affect reflexive shifts of attention.

Follow My Eyes: The Gaze of Politicians Reflexively Captures the Gaze of Ingroup Voters / Liuzza, MARCO TULLIO; Valentina, Cazzato; Vecchione, Michele; Crostella, Filippo; Caprara, Gian Vittorio; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria. - In: PLOS ONE. - ISSN 1932-6203. - ELETTRONICO. - 6:9(2011), p. e25117. [10.1371/journal.pone.0025117]

Follow My Eyes: The Gaze of Politicians Reflexively Captures the Gaze of Ingroup Voters

LIUZZA, MARCO TULLIO;VECCHIONE, MICHELE;CROSTELLA, FILIPPO;CAPRARA, Gian Vittorio;AGLIOTI, Salvatore Maria
2011

Abstract

Studies in human and non-human primates indicate that basic socio-cognitive operations are inherently linked to the power of gaze in capturing reflexively the attention of an observer. Although monkey studies indicate that the automatic tendency to follow the gaze of a conspecific is modulated by the leader-follower social status, evidence for such effects in humans is meager. Here, we used a gaze following paradigm where the directional gaze of right-or left-wing Italian political characters could influence the oculomotor behavior of ingroup or outgroup voters. We show that the gaze of Berlusconi, the right-wing leader currently dominating the Italian political landscape, potentiates and inhibits gaze following behavior in ingroup and outgroup voters, respectively. Importantly, the higher the perceived similarity in personality traits between voters and Berlusconi, the stronger the gaze interference effect. Thus, higher-order social variables such as political leadership and affiliation prepotently affect reflexive shifts of attention.
2011
01 Pubblicazione su rivista::01a Articolo in rivista
Follow My Eyes: The Gaze of Politicians Reflexively Captures the Gaze of Ingroup Voters / Liuzza, MARCO TULLIO; Valentina, Cazzato; Vecchione, Michele; Crostella, Filippo; Caprara, Gian Vittorio; Aglioti, Salvatore Maria. - In: PLOS ONE. - ISSN 1932-6203. - ELETTRONICO. - 6:9(2011), p. e25117. [10.1371/journal.pone.0025117]
File allegati a questo prodotto
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11573/384422
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo

Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? 32
  • Scopus 77
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 66
social impact