"It's kind of awkward," said the 21-year-old senior. "I don't want them to think I was staring at them for no reason. I just kind of stare off, not looking at anyone in particular."
In our busy, tech-saturated world, making eye contact can seem like an uncomfortable task, but new research from Purdue shows that even the slightest glance from a stranger can make a person feel more connected. However, being looked through -- even by a stranger -- makes someone feel more disconnected.
"Acknowledgment helps and being looked through hurts, at least momentarily," said Eric Wesselmann, study co-author and continuing lecturer of psychology at Purdue. "It speaks to the power of human beings needing to belong ... Even a stranger's glance or being looked through can influence our momentary feelings of social connection."
The study "To Be Looked at as Though Air: Civil Attention Matters," was published this month in the journal Psychological Science. The research for the study was actually carried out on Purdue's campus.
The researchers wanted to study the effect of acknowledgment compared to the effect of being "looked at as though air," according to the study.
A trained research assistant approached passersby who had no distractions such as music or a telephone and performed one of three acts: Either the assistant looked at the person and made eye contact, made eye contact and smiled, or gave the person an air gaze -- directing the gaze at eye level but not making eye contact, as though looking through them.
"We really tried to give it this idea of being looked through or as though you didn't exist," he said.
Directly after the interaction, an experimenter following behind would immediately ask the person questions about how disconnected they felt and if they had experienced acknowledgment from a stranger within the last minute. The questions were asked before any other pedestrians could walk by.
Wassermann said this air gaze effect would last only momentarily.
"It wouldn't last as long as if your best friend looked through you," he said. "Our data can't speak to that, but it's reasonable to assume."
Purdue junior Kirsti Clawson said she's usually not paying attention when she's walking across campus.
"(I'm) just focused on getting from (point) A to B or I'll be on my phone," the 20-year-old said.
Gil Jones, another Purdue junior, said he doesn't make an effort to make eye contact with strangers so he doesn't expect passersby to do so.
"I'm focused on the end goal of what I'm doing," he said.
But Jones said acknowledgment doesn't go unnoticed, even from strangers.
"Even a smile or 'hello' would make me feel more connected," he said.
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