Evaluation of an interviewer as a function of interviewer gaze, reinforcement of subject gaze, and interviewer attractiveness.

Abstract

Male subjects were interviewed by female interviewers who gazed constantly, intermittently, or not at all. Experimental subjects were reinforced with green light feedback whenever they gazed at the interviewers and were punished with red light feedback when they averted gaze for more than 6 seconds. Control subjects received noncontingent green and red light feedback. Although gaze of experimental subjects toward the interviewers was increased significantly, their attitudes toward the interviewers remained the same. This was probably because the subjects did not discriminate that their gazing behavior had changed. Subjects gave the most unfavorable reactions to the nongazing interviewers, rating them as least attractive, giving them the shortest answers, and sitting farthest from them during the debriefing session. Subjects did not discriminate between high and low attractive interviewers, except that the latter were rated disproportionately low on attentiveness if they did not gaze. Interviewers with high rates of talking were preferred over interviewers with low rates of talking. It was concluded that interpersonal attraction is related to gaze and physical attractiveness through a number of mediating variables which will have to be isolated more specifically in future research.