From Monday 10th November Dr Isabelle Mareschal will be taking part in the Live Science initiative at the Science Museum, London. She will be spending five weeks at the museum encouraging visitors to take part in eye tracking experiments to explore how long we can maintain comfortable eye contact with another person. Dr Mareschal explains:
“We are hoping to work with visitors to determine why people find making mutual eye contact uncomfortable when it lasts too long, or not long enough. Using the eye trackers participants will get to see how they look at other people's faces and find out if they like to make eye contact for longer or shorter than average.”
Dr Mareschal’s initiative was funded by the Leverhulme trust and is part of the Live Science project. The Live Science project allows scientists to come into the Science Museum to carry out their research using museum visitors as volunteers. Visitors can take part in real scientific experiments to find out more about themselves. The experiments are never dangerous, they are all fun!
Dr Mareschal’s “How Long Do You Look?” project will be at the Live Science, Who am I? gallery on the first floor, Wellcome Wing of the Science Museum every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday 11:00-13:00 and 14:00-17:30 from Monday 10 November until Saturday 13 December. Entry is free.
Notes:
Photo courtesy of Katherine Leedale and the Royal Institute.
Dr Mareschal is a Lecturer in Psychology at QMUL. Her research interests are in visual perception in humans. You can read more about her research and view her latest publications on her staff profile page.