Research on Influence of Existence of Interviewee's Eye Contact through Monitor on Interviewer's Impression during Online Interviews

Abstract

This research aimed to clarify through an experiment the influence of the existence of the interviewee’s eye contact through the monitor on the interviewer’s impressions during online interviews and to provide useful information about online interviews for the students. In the experiment, five versions of the video of the online interview each consisting of one of five interviewee gaze patterns were prepared, as follows; A: staring at the camera and the monitor alternatively, B: staring at the monitor only when answering questions, C: staring at the camera all the time, D: staring at the monitor all the time, and E: looking at different places erratically. Thirteen participants were required to evaluate their impressions of the interviewee after watching each video. The results of the experiments revealed that the interviewer’s impressions when the interviewee stared at the camera only while he/she was answering (Pattern B) and when staring at the camera during the interview (Pattern C) were better than the other gaze patterns. It suggested that the existence of the interviewee’s eye contact while he/she answered the questions had a better influence on the interviewer’s impressions.