Attentional territories: The influence of gaze and interpersonal distance in the navigation of public space

Human gaze is a potent social signal; it communicates attention, intention and social engagement, and allows observers to infer not only where others are attending but also how they are socially related. Although gaze has been extensively studied in direct social interaction, far less is known about how it shapes the perceptions and actions of uninvolved observers in shared environments. Here, we investigate whether mutual gaze creates an 'attentional territory' that third parties implicitly respect. In a large-scale field study across four university campuses in Europe and Canada (N = 4680 pedestrians), two confederates stood facing one another in a public space. We manipulated gaze direction and reciprocity (mutual, unilateral or no interaction) as well as interpersonal distance (2-6 metres), holding body orientation and spatial arrangement constant. Pedestrians were less likely to cross between individuals engaged in mutual gaze. This effect weakened with increasing distance, but was robust across all locations. Together, the findings demonstrate that gaze does not merely coordinate interaction between individuals but also shapes how uninvolved others perceive and move through shared environments. By isolating gaze reciprocity from spatial arrangement, we demonstrate that mutual gaze functions as a dynamic social boundary organizing the permeability of public space.