Research

There is magic when eyes meet. And a lot of information: Eye contact, and gaze cues in general, serve two important goals. They allow to simultaneously receive information (e.g., what is the other interested in?) and communicate information (e.g., what I am saying is really important). Not surprisingly, humans are very sensitive to where and how others are looking. My studies show that eye contact shapes attention, perception, and behaviours, even when eye contact is merely observed between others. Crucial questions for the future are how exactly gaze cues contribute to communication and coordination, and how the processing and employment of gaze are altered in clinical populations (e.g., social anxiety, conduct disorder).

How do we access what others are feeling, what they know, want, plan and belief? One route to another’s mind is visual perspective taking. My studies suggest that even without being aware of it, we incorporate what other’s see into how we process information ourselves.

Many social settings require that we understand emotional and cognitive states of other people. Empathy, the resonance with others’ sensory or emotional states, provides immediate access to how others feel. Theory of Mind, by contrast, refers to the cognitive reasoning about what others want, know, and belief. I examine the interplay of these processes both on a behavioral and neural level and address how they contribute to prosocial behavior. Future studies aim to understand how simple gaze cues and gaze behaviors are linked to these processes of social understanding.

When we interact with others, our behaviours seem influenced by various factors. I want to gain a better understanding of the motivations that underlie prosocial behaviors such as sharing or helping others. My studies suggest that altruistic motivations (e.g., genuinely aiming at enhancing others’ well-being) can be distinguished from norm-based motivations (e.g., complying with norms) and that these tendencies relate differentially to narcissism and respond differently to meditation-based interventions. Targeted trainings of compassion, benevolence, and gratitude, for instance, successfully enhanced altruistic behaviours. Open questions are how simple social signals such as gazes can shape social interaction such as cooperation as well.