Staring contests are automatic: People lock eyes to establish dominance
Friday, February 25, 2011 - 14:30
in Psychology & Sociology
Imagine that you're in a bar and you accidentally knock over your neighbor's beer. He turns around and stares at you, looking for confrontation. Do you buy him a new drink, or do you try to out-stare him to make him back off? New research suggests that the dominance behavior exhibited by staring someone down can be reflexive.