Science confirms: People really do communicate with their eyes.

For a long time, eye contact has been considered one of the most effective non-verbal communication tools of humans. However, exactly how the brain processes visual information from other people's eyes is still an unanswered question - Photo: AI

This new study of eye gaze opens up deeper insights into the brain's social recognition system.

In a study published in the journal Media Psychology , Professor Jelena Ristic's research team from McGill University (Canada) used videos recording the eye movements of participants, clearly distinguishing between intentional and reflexive eye movements.

The results showed that observers could accurately distinguish between these two types of movements, even though they appeared to be similar. Even some signals, such as micromovements around the eyes, that are difficult to detect with the naked eye, could be analyzed by the brain to determine the "intention" of the person opposite.

The remarkable point of the study is that the brain reacts faster to proactive eye contact, even if the time difference is only a few milliseconds. This shows that eye contact is not simply a reflection of the direction of gaze, but is also interpreted by the central nervous system as a form of social message, which can be equivalent to words or gestures.

“We found that people not only follow eye gaze to locate objects, but also perceive the social intentions behind that behavior,” said Professor Ristic.

Despite the ability to discriminate intentional gaze, observers showed no difference in response speed when asked to locate the object to which gaze was directed, regardless of whether the movement was intentional or reflexive.

This suggests that recognizing “intent” is only the first step, and that understanding the specific content of eye contact may require more factors, such as context, facial expression, or linguistic support.

According to the research team, this result could play an important role in better understanding the working mechanism of the social recognition system in humans, especially in groups with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"We wanted to find out why some people can't process social cues like eye contact well, maybe their nervous system doesn't decode these non-verbal cues like normal people," Professor Ristic shared.

This study reaffirms the importance of eye contact as a key element in social interaction. Understanding and decoding eye contact can not only improve communication, but can also aid in the diagnosis and intervention of disorders related to social cognition.

Still, like all forms of communication, eye contact cannot be separated from context. A look can carry meaning of help, warning, or even deception, something that further research continues to explore.

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MINH HAI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/khoa-hoc-xac-nhan-con-nguoi-that-su-giao-tiep-bang-anh-mat-20250506160936753.htm