This is when your eyes and theirs happen to meet and then they look away immediately, except they look away consciously, whether it be because of shyness, awkwardness, or disinterest.īody language studies claim that a person who breaks eye contact with you by looking down is intimidated (i.e., attracted) and a person who breaks eye contact by looking to the side is indifferent (i.e., not attracted). The second level of eye contact is the first type of eye contact where you’ve possibly made a positive impression on a person. Most people aren’t paying attention to what they’re looking at most of the time. Just like Level 0, this level of eye contact is neutral and there’s not much to take away from it. The key here is that he or she is not aware of your eyes meeting and therefore nothing is registering to them as particularly interesting or enticing in that moment. It’s basically when their eyes are wandering around and coincidentally meet yours for a moment and then continue wandering. Level 1: Glance (Unconscious)Īn unconscious glance is that moment when someone looks up at you and then immediately looks away, although they’re not aware of what they’re looking at. Either they’re busy and focusing on something else, or you’re about as intriguing to look at as grandma’s wallpaper. It means nothing other than they haven’t noticed you. Level 0: No Eye Contact (Unintentional)Īn unintentional absence of eye contact signals a lack of knowledge you exist. That or you have some mustard on your face. The non-verbal cue for “Give it up… and go the fuck away from me.” Put simply, if someone is intentionally making an effort to NOT look at you, they’re not interested.

Just because he or she is responding to you verbally doesn’t mean you’re out of the gates yet. Level (-1) eye contact can also occur within a conversation. This eye contact (or lack thereof) is typically reserved for the horny mouth-breathers who stare at a girl’s tits, obnoxious drunk guys in full-on bro mode, the crazed ex-girlfriend stalker, or any other potential psycho in one’s vicinity. It’s a person’s way of saying, “Get away from me, creep,” without, you know, actually saying it. In the heights of sexual intimacy, Level (-1) is subterranean. Level (-1): No Eye Contact (Intentional)īeyond the lowest level of eye contact, this is when someone is not only not making eye contact with you, but they’re consciously making an effort to NOT look at you. Here is an entirely overly-analytical, and mostly-satirical-but-kinda-true-too guide to the levels of eye contact and what sort of attraction it means. Simply meeting eyes with someone won’t make them fall head over heels for you, but it sure will do many other things that can turn them from a “maybe” to a “ fuck yes. You don’t have to believe in love at first sight (I don’t), to appreciate the power of eye contact. The hottie from the back of the room who’s watching you will think you’re more sincere, less anxious, and more relaxed the more they see you look at your friends while interacting with them.

You’re in the bar hanging with your friends. We generally judge people who make eye contact with us to be smarter and more competent. Even if it were something they know not to be true, they’ll still be slower to disagree.

When you tell someone something they don’t know to be true, they’ll tend to believe it if you look them in the eye. 3 And if you want the person you’re having a conversation with to not be distracted, look them in the eye. If you want to catch someone’s attention, suddenly looking at them (even if you don’t move your head at all) will tend to do the trick. 2 This should be obvious even without the research: if you want to arouse someone, don’t look at the floor, look at them. 1 Simply having someone stare back at you could make you all sweaty and shit. Looking into someone’s eyes will make you significantly more aroused than looking at someone whose gaze is averted. Here are the highlights of what eye contact does. From the stern look in your mother’s face when the five-year-old you broke into the fridge and ate that tub of ice cream, to the scrutinizing gaze of the interviewer as you wondered whether you answered that last question well enough to secure the job of your dreams. We’ve all experienced that moment when you look into someone’s eyes and see a million unspoken words. Intuitively, we understand the power of eye contact. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have heard the saying, “The eyes are the window to the soul,” or some cheesy variation thereof.

Wanting an eye for an eye