Abstract
People perceive the minds of others in depicted faces. For example, "being watched" by photographic eyes can enhance prosocial behaviour. We sought to test whether this effect of implied social presence is greater for open eyes than closed eyes. Using a series of counterbalancing and photoshopped paintings, 48 participants viewed 40 images: original eyes open, photoshopped eyes closed, original eyes closed, and photoshopped eyes open. Participants viewed these images for 10 seconds each while their eyes were monitored by an SMI tracker; and then they rated the attractiveness of the model. We discovered that people spent more time dwelling on bodies than faces when the model's eyes were closed in comparison with when their eyes were open. No differences were found in overt ratings of attraction or between the self-reported gender of participants. These results demonstrate that there is greater objectifying gaze when nude models have their eyes closed suggesting that implied social presence of depicted minds declines when the eyes are closed.