Since the last update on this subject in the British Journal of Psychiatry (Forster, 1988), and the 1986 publication of the reading list from the Section for Social, Community and Rehabilitation Psychiatry, profound changes have been taking place in Britain, and therefore to the context in which the subject has to be considered. Some of these changes were a continuation of a philosophy encouraged in the early 1980s, namely the promotion of individualism and the provision for self, accompanied by the diminution or denial of a societal or welfare approach. In addition, many members of society have been subject to increasing uncertainty in their lives because of the rapid spread of short-term work contracts and part-time work into both the public and private sectors.

One of the first psychologists to investigate experimentally the role of gaze in human behaviour was Michael Argyle. In 1963 he set up a research group at Oxford with Ted Crossman and Adam Kendon, to study non-verbal communication in human social interaction, which included gaze as an important aspect of this behaviour. Shortly afterwards, Mark Cook joined this group which was funded until 1975, during which time considerable research on gaze had been carried out both at Oxford and elsewhere. This book summarises much of the work done in this field up until that time.