I in eye contact

Eye contact is a powerful social signal. Another person’s direct gaze not only increases physiological arousal, but it has, in fact, several different types of effects on cognition and behavior. Research has shown that seeing another person’s direct gaze increases peoples’ awareness of themselves, improves memory for contextually presented information, increases the likelihood of behaving in a pro-social manner, and makes people evaluate the gazer more positively. But why does a direct gaze have such diverse effects?