Does your gaze direction and head orientation shift my visual attention?

The effects of another person's gaze direction and head orientation on the observer's attentional processes were investigated. Subjects responded to visual, laterally presented reaction signals. The presentation of the reaction signal was preceded by a facial cue stimulus signaling a direction which was either congruent, neutral, or incongruent with the laterality of the reaction signal. A head (front and profile views) with an averted gaze affected the response times in comparison to the front view of a face with a straight gaze. In contrast, a profile view of a head with a compatible gaze direction did not result in such an effect. The results indicate that visual information from the other individual's gaze direction and head orientation is integrated, and the integrated information is fed to the brain areas subserving visual attention orienting.