The Totally Counterintuitive Reason You Might Lose Arguments

(Image credit: Marie Claire)

By Lane Miller 2013-10-07T06:23:27Z

Well this seems counterintuitive. A newly released study in Psychological Science found that forcing eye contact during a disagreement made people less likely to change their mind.

Researchers believe that this response is tied to a primal response to being dominated. Eye contact can been seen as an aggressive maneuver which makes us feel threatened. Despite the fact that many people believe eye contact is an important part of interaction, it seems as though context is key. When looking for sympathy or a connection, eye contact is best. However if you're trying to change someone's mind, keep eye contact to a minimum and you just may win the argument!