Read any Web forum, and you'll agree: people are meaner online than in “real life.” Psychologists have largely blamed this disinhibition on anonymity and invisibility: when you're online, no one knows who you are or what you look like. A new study in Computers in Human Behavior, however, suggests that above and beyond anything else, we're nasty on the Internet because we don't make eye contact with our compatriots.

Researchers at the University of Haifa in Israel asked 71 pairs of college students who did not know one another to debate an issue over Instant Messenger and try to come up with an agreeable solution. The pairs, seated in different rooms, chatted in various conditions: some were asked to share personal, identifying details; others could see side views of their partner's body through webcams; and others were asked to maintain near-constant eye contact with the aid of close-up cameras attached to the top of their computer.

Far more than anonymity or invisibility, whether or not the subjects had to look into their partner's eyes predicted how mean they were. When their eyes were hidden, participants were twice as likely to be hostile. Even if the subjects were both unrecognizable (with only their eyes on screen) and anonymous, they rarely made threats if they maintained eye contact. Although no one knows exactly why eye contact is so crucial, lead author and behavioral scientist Noam Lapidot-Lefler, now at the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College in Israel, notes that seeing a partner's eyes “helps you understand the other person's feelings, the signals that the person is trying to send you,” which fosters empathy and communication.

This article was originally published with the title Rudeness on the Internet.

7 Comments

1. 1. Priscilla Eldridge 03:30 AM 8/19/12

   As the younger sibling of someone with Aspergers, this article made me wonder about how this could translate outside of the internet. People with Aspergers often have difficulty maintaining eye contact; they are also frequently targets for bullying. While part of this could from frequent social gaffs, it seems disproportionate. I would be interested to know if there has been any research showing similar results when the subjects are in the same room.

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2. 2. Percival 03:03 PM 9/16/12

   I love it when two groups of psychologists come to definitive, opposite conclusions. I love it a bit less when Sci Am reports on both but does not note the disparity:
   
   http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=testosterone-promotes-agression-aut-12-06-09

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3. 3. WRQ9 03:36 PM 9/16/12

   I really feel there is far too much small pool research in organized science today. Educats take a pool of students without recognizing that students are, even more today than previously, a particular sort. The inherent bias derived from this kind of research is irrelevant to the researcher, but it is to science that the damage is done.

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4. 4. ultimobo 04:21 PM 9/16/12

   reply to Priscilla - as a teacher with a current Aspergers student occupying a large amount of our collective management time, another side of 'being frequent targets for bullying' I have seen is that this boy just drives me and his classmates to our wits' end with his constant interruptions when we are trying to think - yes I understand they may not be able to read peoples faces/emotions, but I have seen another large boy who I had observed to be quite mature and well balanced accused of bullying after basically telling the Aspergers boy to stop annoying him and leave him alone - given this advice seems to be remembered for no more than a few minutes, repeatedly fending off unwanted disturbances is taxing on all of us.
   
   I recently saw on TV a UK school programme where a head teacher said '2% of our students take up 70% of our resources' - I'm sorry to say that sounds about right in this case too.
   
   but back to your point about absence of eye contact outside of the internet - I had read that a blind cat kept getting beaten up by other cats in the neighbourhood - apparently blinking is cat language signalling peaceful intentions, an unblinking stare the reverse - apparently the blind cat, hearing another cat in the vicinity, would turn its head in that direction to hear better - can't see, unblinking - the other cat would be 'oh - so you wanna fight me!? OK then - it's on - biffo!'

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5. 5. Lakrits 11:50 AM 9/17/12

   [Reply to Priscilla Eldridge's post (# 1)]
   
   Hi Priscilla,
   
   I'm an adult with the ASD diagnosis Asperger's syndrome/High functioning autism. My personal experience is that, yes, you are a prime target for bullies, but if you have an equally late development of social skills as I had, you don't realise that you are being bullied. But since most persons diagnosed with an ASD are high or very high functioning already from a very young age, the child (or adult, in case of adult bullying) will understand that he/she is being bullied, but with little or no clue as to why it's happening or how to deal with it. The reason for that being that it takes time to learn the social boundaries between acceptable crude jokes, and unacceptable abuse. I still can't figure out if I'm being ridiculed or not some times, or if indeed the mocking is abusive or not. Nor do I know how to respond properly.
   
   Well, enough about me. There are several studies on the social interaction skills and behaviour of persons with an ASD diagnosis, mostly (classical) autism or Asperger's syndrome (nowadays High functioning autism). Below you'll find links to just three of the articles I found through one of the scientific search engines I use for my own research (which has nothing to do with ASD).
   
   Be nice to your autistic sibling and best wishes,
   
   Mikael H. af O.
   
   ---
   
   "Cyber bullying in ADHD and Asperger Syndrome populations"
   http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1750946711000134
   
   "The experience of friendship, victimization and bullying in children with an autism spectrum disorder: Associations with child characteristics and school placement"
   http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S175094671200030X
   
   "The eyes have it: the neuroethology, function and evolution of social gaze"
   http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763400000257
   
   ---

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6. 6. jgrosay 03:27 PM 9/17/12

   I always had the hunch that eye contact, at least in earlier times, had some sexual content, it would mean that the one that looks into the other eye's is somehow daring him/her and announcing some possessive sexual intentions in the approach. With this in mind, it won't be good for a man looking at other man's eyes, as for non-gay men an attempt of sexual possession by other male means also an unbearable submission to the one that's trying to put the other in a passive sexual object condition, and also, in some cultures where any kind of approach having any sexual content to a woman that is not the contacting man's wife may be felt as equivalent with every kind of molesting. Queen, that were not an strictly heterosexual band as the Rolling Stones said about themselves, sung some about "Look into my eyes and see" (Bohemian Rhapsody). Many Western societies have patterns of behavior and social contact that would be considered vulgar and offensive in other cultures. By the way, some people warned others that were about traveling to New-York city in the 80's: "Don't make any eye contact"(in the streets only?) OK, but why?

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7. 7. StevieT03 04:03 PM 9/19/12

   I first began to notice how embolden people were behind their screen names during online poker tournaments. I played a significant amount of poker both online and in person, and frequently laughed to myself when picturing how an altercation would play out if the things people said online during play were said at a live table. While noticing the same thing on various Q & A message boards and forums, I came up with an idea to put a face to the anonymous advice givers, and launched www.webponder.com. Although only time will tell, my guess is that people will not be as critical and abusive to the advice givers when they are speaking to them face to face.

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