Gaze behaviour and vocal feedback in task-based dyadic conversations with and without eye contact

Human communication is multimodal, with verbal and non-verbal cues such as eye gaze and vocal feedback being crucial for managing interactions. While much research has focused on eye gaze and turn alternation, few studies explore its relationship with turn-regulating vocal feedback. This study inves...

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Main Authors: Simona Sbranna, Michelina Savino, Florence Baills, Martine Grice
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-05-01
Series:Frontiers in Communication
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1524453/full
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author Simona Sbranna
Michelina Savino
Florence Baills
Martine Grice
author_facet Simona Sbranna
Michelina Savino
Florence Baills
Martine Grice
author_sort Simona Sbranna
collection DOAJ
description Human communication is multimodal, with verbal and non-verbal cues such as eye gaze and vocal feedback being crucial for managing interactions. While much research has focused on eye gaze and turn alternation, few studies explore its relationship with turn-regulating vocal feedback. This study investigates this interplay during a Tangram game in Italian under two visibility conditions: face-to-face and separated by a screen. The results show that feedback producers rarely look at receivers, while receivers more frequently look at producers, suggesting that they might be eliciting vocal feedback. Without visual contact, gaze shifts decrease and vocal feedback increases. Interestingly, when visual contact is absent, gaze directed towards where the addressee is sitting does not coincide with vocal feedback, raising questions about what prompts this gaze.
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publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Communication
spelling doaj-art-5b84b293733442de8c753a35f2d869d32025-08-20T01:51:55ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Communication2297-900X2025-05-011010.3389/fcomm.2025.15244531524453Gaze behaviour and vocal feedback in task-based dyadic conversations with and without eye contactSimona Sbranna0Michelina Savino1Florence Baills2Martine Grice3IfL-Phonetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, GermanyDepartment of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, ItalyFaculty of Arts, Universitat de Lleida, Lleida, SpainIfL-Phonetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, GermanyHuman communication is multimodal, with verbal and non-verbal cues such as eye gaze and vocal feedback being crucial for managing interactions. While much research has focused on eye gaze and turn alternation, few studies explore its relationship with turn-regulating vocal feedback. This study investigates this interplay during a Tangram game in Italian under two visibility conditions: face-to-face and separated by a screen. The results show that feedback producers rarely look at receivers, while receivers more frequently look at producers, suggesting that they might be eliciting vocal feedback. Without visual contact, gaze shifts decrease and vocal feedback increases. Interestingly, when visual contact is absent, gaze directed towards where the addressee is sitting does not coincide with vocal feedback, raising questions about what prompts this gaze.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1524453/fullturn-takingeye gazevocal feedbackface-to-face dialoguenon-visibility
spellingShingle Simona Sbranna
Michelina Savino
Florence Baills
Martine Grice
Gaze behaviour and vocal feedback in task-based dyadic conversations with and without eye contact
Frontiers in Communication
turn-taking
eye gaze
vocal feedback
face-to-face dialogue
non-visibility
title Gaze behaviour and vocal feedback in task-based dyadic conversations with and without eye contact
title_full Gaze behaviour and vocal feedback in task-based dyadic conversations with and without eye contact
title_fullStr Gaze behaviour and vocal feedback in task-based dyadic conversations with and without eye contact
title_full_unstemmed Gaze behaviour and vocal feedback in task-based dyadic conversations with and without eye contact
title_short Gaze behaviour and vocal feedback in task-based dyadic conversations with and without eye contact
title_sort gaze behaviour and vocal feedback in task based dyadic conversations with and without eye contact
topic turn-taking
eye gaze
vocal feedback
face-to-face dialogue
non-visibility
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2025.1524453/full
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AT florencebaills gazebehaviourandvocalfeedbackintaskbaseddyadicconversationswithandwithouteyecontact
AT martinegrice gazebehaviourandvocalfeedbackintaskbaseddyadicconversationswithandwithouteyecontact