Eye-contact graphs

Abstract

The structure of nonverbal communication expressed as eye-contact between two human beings is analyzed using graph-theoretic tools involving a theorem of Konig on bipartite graphs and various results concerning directed graphs (as in Harary). A taxonomy for possible eye-contact configurations is constructed; then a theory, formed from a sequence of theorems proved about classes of eye-contact graphs derived from the taxonomy, is interpreted to analyze possible levels of communication. This theory can apply to any living system but it is interpreted here with respect to human subsystems composed of (1) individuals with normal vision, and (2) individuals with vision disorders which lead to crossed eyes.