Stare

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Stare at a herring-headed gull

As Drohstarren is in the Human Ethology and ethology an intensive form of eye contact referred to as "a common form aggressive Imponierens " is interpreted and according to Irenaeus Eibl-Eibesfeldt with the people heard "of the normal repertoire of aggressive behavior": "To gaze applies everywhere as a threat. ”Eibl-Eibesfeldt came to this generalized conclusion, as he was able to prove this variant of non-verbal communication among the African " Bushmen " and Himba as well as among the South American Yanomami , the Tasaday living on Mindanao and the Melanesian Eipo . Threatening stare has also been observed in animals.

In his standard work The Biology of Human Behavior , Eibl-Eibesfeldt describes the facial expression of people when threatening to stare as follows:

“The eyebrows are raised, the crack in the mouth is pressed together, the corners of the mouth are drawn down slightly. Similarly, when people throw a stone or other object, they raise their eyebrows, presumably in an effort to see clearly. They also squeeze the cracks in the mouth, which people everywhere do when they are physically active.

- Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, The Biology of Human Behavior , p. 530

Such an expressive behavior , referred to by Konrad Lorenz as "mimic exaggeration" - fixation with the eyes - has also been described in numerous animal species, such as bonobos , gorillas and baboons , shrews , snakes , guinea pigs and red dogs .

In primates , pulling down the corners of the mouth occasionally also makes the canine teeth visible , which increases the threat mimicry.

For boxers , it is often part of the Imponiergehabes before the fight.

With dogs , too , the visual fixation of another dog is an aspect of offensive threats, also known as attack threats. In contrast to this, when impressing, i.e. demonstrating strength, direct eye contact is avoided. However, showing off behavior can turn into attacking behavior. Offensive threats are often answered with defensive threats (defense threats). This is the most likely way of a fight, the defensively threatening dog bites first. This interpretation shows why people should avoid direct eye contact with strange dogs: They can feel threatened and therefore bite. With regard to herding dogs , their “concentrated looking at and following moving objects, stopping the movement when they reach a certain distance to these objects” (for example to sheep) is referred to as “ pointing the eye ”.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerhard Medicus : Human ethological aspects of aggression - a contribution to the biological foundations of psychotherapy and psychiatry. In: W. Schöny, H. Rittmannsberger and ch. Guth (Ed.): Aggression in the context of mental illness. Causes, consequences, treatment. Edition pro mente, Linz 1994, pp. 29–56, ISBN 3-901409-00-9
  2. ↑ Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt: The biology of human behavior. Outline of human ethology. Seehamer Verlag, Weyarn 1997, p. 528 u. 242, ISBN 3-932131-34-7
  3. ^ Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt: Tribal historical adaptations in human behavior. In: Grzimeks Tierleben, special volume behavior research. Kindler Verlag, Zurich 1974, p. 605
  4. ↑ Konrad Lorenz: The so-called evil. On the natural history of aggression. Dr. G. Borotha-Schoeler Verlag, Vienna 1963, p. 105
  5. ↑ Claudia Jordan: The behavior of zoo-living dwarf chimpanzees (Pan paniscus Schwarz 1929). Diss. Nat., Frankfurt am Main 1977, p. 100
  6. ↑ Zoo School Hanover (ed.): Strong, gentle herbivores. In: About the Gorilla Mountain. Working aid No. 16.1. 2nd edition, Hannover 2009, p. 15, full text (PDF; 1.4 MB)
  7. ↑ Keike Johannsen: The desert lives - also with Hagenbeck. In: Regina Marek (Ed.): Lynx 2/2008 , p. 26, full text (PDF) ( Memento from September 9, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Simone Schehka: Acoustic variation in communication calls of Tree Shrews: from broad to narrow messages. Diss. Nat., Hannover 2009, p. 93 full text, PDF
  9. ↑ Martin S. Fischer: Hyracoidea. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1991, p. 134 = Handbuch der Zoologie , Volume 8: Mammalia, Teilband 58, ISBN 3-11-012934-5
  10. ↑ State Institute for Teacher Training and School Development (Ed.): Guinea Pig. Observe - analyze - reason. Schüthe-Druck, Hamburg 2008, p. 65, full text, PDF
  11. ↑ Wolfgang Ludwig: On the social behavior of the red dog (Cuon alpinus PALLAS 1811) under enclosure conditions: strategies of cohesion and suppression. Diss. Nat., Kassel 2006, p. 33, full text, PDF
  12. ↑ Thomas Hülshoff: Emotions. Ernst Reinhardt Verlag / UTB, Munich 2006, p. 147, ISBN 3-8252-2051-6
  13. ↑ Wladimir Klitschko: Good At Staring, Bad At Football
  14. ^ Dorit Feddersen-Petersen : Hundepsychologie. Social behavior and beings - emotions and individuality Kosmos, 2014, ISBN 3440142752 , pp. 111–115.
    Dorit Feddersen-Petersen uses the term threat fixation .
  15. ↑ Uta Hoffmann: Environmental and genetic influences on characteristics of the performance test in the paddock utility dog ​​Border Collie. Diss.nat, Hannover 2000, p. 6, full text (PDF; 1.9 MB)