Gaze direction. The tendency of a lone diner a. to look up in a cafe or restaurant, and b. to move the eyes horizontally across the view-field while taking a bite of food or drinking from a cup, bottle, or glass.
SOLITARY DINER'S GLANCE
Gaze direction. The tendency of a lone diner a. to look up in a cafe or restaurant, and b. to move
the eyes horizontally across the view-field while taking a bite of food or drinking from a cup,
bottle, or glass.
Usage: Solitary diner's glance resembles the cautious visual checking that goes on among unacquainted individuals (e.g., in elevators and waiting rooms), though it occurs at regular intervals (i.e., usually with each bite or sip) and with greater frequency. The behavior may be a protective response to stranger anxiety.
RESEARCH REPORT: Eibl-Eibesfeldt (1970) observed that individuals who ate alone looked up and around into the distance after each bite or two, alertly "scanning the horizon" against enemies, much as baboons and chimpanzees do in the wild.
See also EYE CONTACT.
Copyright 1999 (David B. Givens/Center for Nonverbal Studies)
Detail of photo by Eddy Van der Elsken (Copyright Rapho Guillumette)