The gaze is one of the elements of non-verbal communication that contains the most informational load in human communication. The gaze communicates a message that can confirm the verbal message of our interlocutor, when it manifests itself in accordance with the message transmitted, or it contradicts the same message, when the gaze itself transmits a message incoherent with the speech verbal.
In this way, along with verbal communication, the gaze, among other non-verbal elements, is essential. to favor an adequate decoding of the received message and, with it, the communication process interpersonal. In this Psychology-Online article, we are going to expose the different types of gaze that can be given, the meaning they contain and we will talk about what does a fixed look in the eyes mean.
Have you ever wondered what the look is and what types are there? Mª de los Reyes Domínguez[1], in his article "The importance of non-verbal communication in the cultural development of societies" cites the seven types of gazes that García Fernández (2000) exposes, which would be the following:
- Firm and frank look: it is about the purest looks in the human being through which closeness, interest and openness are transmitted. It is a very present look in infants.
- Fierce stare: it is a very typical look between parents and children through which information of anger or discontent is transmitted.
- Lower your eyes: this look usually expresses humility, as a positive trait, or submission, as a somewhat more negative manifestation of the action.
- Elusive gaze: one of the types of looks typical of shy people, who feel insecure when it comes to gazing because they feel observed and judged or, on the other hand, from people who try to conceal or hide something.
- Unfocused eyes: it is the look that occurs when a person is "daydreaming" or spellbound, in which the gaze is fixed in the distance, without focusing on any specific object as the center of attention.
- Elevated gaze: consists of the look in which the eyelids are raised towards the upper part of the eyes. According to its author, this look is typical of people with religious cults and art admirers.
- Side look: this gaze is used in situations in which the person remains immobile but moves his eyes laterally, escaping from what he has in front of him. This is the case of shy people or those who are being discovered in something they wanted to hide.
What does it mean for a person to stare into your eyes? The looks have multiple meanings based on different factors that interact with each other. The aspects that determine the meaning of the looks, according to Mª del Rocío Cruz[2], They are:
- Personal characteristics: physical and psychological features or physiognomy.
- Social and cultural characteristics: the concrete ones in which the person develops. The life history of the person endows them with a set of learning of communicative styles among which will be found a specific use of the gaze in their communication process.
- The process of socialization of the person: the use of the gaze is included as one of the communicative traits par excellence, which will condition a use of this communication medium depending on the sociocultural context in which the community lives and develops. person.
- Age.
- Sex.
- Environment or context.
- Degree of intimacy.
Types of meanings of looks
Looking into the eyes is finally constituted in a wide range of meanings that, together with the rest of communication channels, conveys different messages depending on the inner mood that, consciously and unconsciously, you want to transmit. Among the different meanings of the looks we find the following:
- Of approach or distancing.
- Acceptance or rejection. Discover how to overcome the fear of rejection.
- Like or dislike.
- Trust or mistrust.
- Happiness.
- Afraid.
- Sadness.
The fixed and serious stares in the eyes of the interlocutor can contain two different meanings that will be determined by the concrete manifestation of the factor "seriousness". Next, we will see what a fixed look in the eyes means:
- If the seriousness is given in a rigid and punitive way: the meaning of the look will be of repression on the interlocutor in question.
- If the seriousness of the look contains sobriety: the person holding the gaze will be transmitting a sincere and deep interest in the person with whom she is interacting.
For all that has been said, the gaze constitutes a determining element in the communicative process, the correct interpretation of which is a factor of great relevance to favor positive communication processes and of personal growth mutual.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
