Question

otis is running a board meeting for his company. as he introduces the presenters for each section of the meeting, he stares intently and unblinkingly at each presenter. although his words and demeanor were quite calm, professional, and inviting, everyone at the table felt a little unnerved by otis. how can this be explained?
a) eye contact, a seemingly innocuous element of social interaction, can have a powerful effect on people; otis creeped everyone out with his incessant staring.
b) otis practiced interactional vandalism by interrupting the presenters to inject his own opinions; the board members felt disrespected.
c) otis insisted on maintaining too large of an interpersonal distance zone between himself and the other board members; they felt excluded.
d) response cries, which serve to regulate social behavior, were absent in otiss introductions of the speakers, so they each felt devalued.

Explanation:

In social interaction, eye - contact is an important non - verbal cue. While some eye - contact is normal and expected, excessive or unblinking eye - contact (like Otis' staring) can make people uncomfortable. Option b is incorrect as there is no mention of Otis interrupting. Option c is wrong because the problem is about staring (eye - contact) not interpersonal distance. Option d is incorrect as response cries (e.g., "oh", "ah") are not relevant to the described situation of staring.

Answer:

a) Eye contact, a seemingly innocuous element of social interaction, can have a powerful effect on people; Otis creeped everyone out with his incessant staring.