title: The Effects of Staring and Pew Invasion in Church Settings.
abstract: The agonistic effects of staring in human beings was tested in a field experiment. Confederates approached worshippers in six churches and attempted to "invade" the pew, with or without staring at the seated person at the end of the pew. The results of 98 invasions over 18 Sunday services revealed that invader staring increased the likelihood of a worshipper moving over or returning the gaze; the same worshippers rarely made both responses. Number of invaders did not influence moving or gaze return. The results are interpreted as yielding support and external validation for previous studies of the agonistic properties of the stare in Americans.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , The University of Kansas , Lawrence , USA.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , The University of Kansas , Lawrence , USA.
authors.forename: Giulio E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Lancioni