THEORY OF NON-COMPETITIVE STARE©2004

(PSYCHOLOGY OF NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION)

 

HYPOTHESIS

 

Through the Pathway:

 

Dominant Eye ↔ Optic Nerve ↔ Cognitive Module for Processing

 

dominance is transmitted and processed in instinctive and non-conscious form. That is the reason why staring directly the non-dominant eye avoids to a great extent the struggle that is settled by hierarchy reasons through sight; this, in turn, leads to improvement in interpersonal relations.

― Pathways through which the dominance is transmitted and processed:

 

- In right-handed individuals: Right Eye - Optic Nerve (through Optic Chiasma) - Cognitive Module

- In left-handed individuals: Left Eye - Optic Nerve - Cognitive Module

- In ambidextrous individuals: through Both Routes

 

 

 

WHY

 

Eye Contact and Dominance

 

Face expressions, gestures and other elements of expressive behaviour in animals (bound by optical communication) are differentiated, graduated in a precise form, and show a high range of variability, which allows them to express with gestures the order of subordination that each animal occupies respect to its opponent. Limiting reductions in facial expressions (and global expressive behavior) originate problems in social communication. Such gradation of face expressions (and corporal language as a whole) is complemented, in evident form, with the sonorous system of gradual communication.

Optical communication is to be considered as fundamental, then, when processing all these stimuli, although beyond that function, it plays a capital role when establishing hierarchy by sight-dominance. This phenomenon is observable in many animal species, and, particularly, in primate species, as gorillas, for instance. To maintain the staring eye fixed in a individual of its kind can be considered as a challenge by the opponent and trigger an immediate aggressive answer.

Equally, in human species, it might not seem dangerous to venture that some form of struggle for power and dominance through ocular contact can be established, although at instinctive (automatic and inevitable if ocular contact is not eluded), and unconscious (in most of cases) level.

 

 

Localizationism

 

Gall (1758-1828), was famous by its general Theory of Cerebral Localization, contemporarily known as Phrenology. This theory consists in the study of the correlation between skull surface features and individual traits.

Broca (1861), in its studies on aphasia, was the first to demonstrate that there exists a correspondence between a superior function (language) and a specific zone of the cerebral crust in the left hemisphere, beginning, thus, a new scientific doctrine of investigation in which a much more methodical and structured tendency of study was adopted.

However, localization theories strongly have been confronted by those who maintain a more holistic view of cerebral functioning. Investigations about the cerebral structure and its nervous connections, allowed to recognize the existence of relations between distant areas involved in a same function in the central nervous system.

Nowadays, Cognitive Neuro-psychology accepts as one of its assumptions the existence of different components or modules, each one of them performing a certain and specific function. A module would be a component of the cognitive system with specific characteristics for each dominion, and independent at computational level, in the sense that it carries out his task without no type of influence of other components at a superior level and innately determined.

 

 

Laterality

 

Each hemisphere has its weak and strong points with respect to a specific task. It seems that our encephalon consists of a left hemisphere, with intellectual, rational capacity, verbal and analytical reasoning; and a right hemisphere with capacities of sensorial, emotional, nonverbal discrimination and reasoning intuitive. Although, in spite of the surprising differences in the capacities of each hemisphere in isolation, when interconnected they seem to help one another in diverse verbal or non-verbal tasks.

 

 

Social Skills

 

Social Skills involved in the processing of the dominance through the ocular contact, would be located in one of the cerebral hemispheres, probably in the Frontal Lobe. These skills, in a very significant percentage of the population, are lateralized in the left hemisphere.

In this Cognitive Module non-verbal stimuli of communicational character would be processed, such as: face gestures, positions and expressions, stare including. All of them are potential "transmitters" of dominance, although the stare is the most atavistic and raised form.

 

 

Hemispheric Dominance

 

Control of most forms of conduct learned by human individuals falls preferably in one of the cerebral hemispheres. More than 90% of adult individuals use their right hand in a more skilful way. Therefore, in right-handed people the dominant cerebral hemisphere is the left one, because those are the motor centers of this side that control movement of the right hand; whereas it is considered that in left-handed people the right hemisphere is dominant, for the precision movements and hand abilities.

As it has been commented, the great majority population is homogenously right-handed. The homogenous dominant laterality is understood in an identical way in the three following levels:

- The dominant eye is the one that remains open when an eye is yawed.

- The dominant hand is above if we requested that fists closed one are placed on another one.

- The dominant foot is the one that is chosen when hopping.

Ocular dominance is defined generally as a preference in the use of one of the eyes as opposed to the other, to develop a certain task. Besides, it would be impossible to relate the ocular dominance to the cerebral dominance when we considered the chiasmatic decussation, since the information of each eye projects both on cerebral hemispheres. Due to this characteristic, it is more correct to speak of dominance based on the task or specific capacity and its location in the cerebral crust.

 

 

 

BEYOND THE HYPOTHESIS

 

The Empirical Evidence

 

* Given the described characteristics of laterality and dominance between individuals, the appropriate technique would be left eye (non-dominant) staring in right-handed people, and right eye (non-dominant) staring in left-handed people.

* Positive effects are much more evident in dominant individuals and/or resistant individuals to dominance. It also becomes positive, although in smaller percentage, in shy individuals or people with difficulties for social relations (the presence or not of dominant traits would explain the variability with respect to the effectiveness of the technique in these types of individuals).

* Two traits of dominance, or two dimensions of the same trait are implicated: dominance and resistance to dominance; they don't correlate.

* In our society hierarchy settles or tries to settle itself down, based on such parameters as: intelligence, culture, creativity, capacity for work, etc. "Biological dominance" in general, and, in particular, the one expressed through eye contact, plays an anachronistic and disturbing role, this being the reason why its control or limitation results in a greater quality of the interpersonal relations and facilitates a more homogeneus hierarchisation based on the mentioned parameters.

* Although it would be sufficient avoiding the ocular contact to dissipate the "power play", when considering itself that to maintain the ocular contact it is a test of sincerity, self-confidence and credibility, the use of the propose technique would revert, consequently, in the postulated improvement in interpersonal relations.

* Improvement of interpersonal relations takes place so much in the case of establishing new relations, as in already established ones.

* In ambidextrous people, the described effect will only take place when using the technique themselves.

* Between two ambidextrous the use of the technique will not produce any effect.

* Two important questions to consider for future studies on the matter of this theory. First to confirm, by means NeuroImage techniques, the presence of neuronal activity before experimental situations of ocular contact maintenance. Second to confirm, by means to design some scale or poll for Technique’s "before" and "later" (unfortunately subjective), the technique achieve a positive effect in interpersonal relations. Obviously, personality traits of dominance and resistance to dominance must play a principal role in both cases.

 

capram@avydia.com

psychologist

COPC College number: 13200