36 Chapter 2 (B = 0.32, SE = 0.08, t(859) = 3.99, p <.001, d = 0.68) and a better mood (B = 0.23, SE = 0.03, t(1178) = 7.11, p <.001, d = 0.40) compared to averted gaze (see Figure 2.2). In addition, we found that parents’ feelings of connectedness (χ2(2) = 2238.0, p <.001), how they felt about the targets (χ2(2) = 1501.1, p <.001), and their mood after the videos (χ2(3) = 133.2, p <.001) were strongly dependent on the target person (Figure 2.2). Post-hoc pairwise (Bonferroni corrected) comparisons indicated higher levels of connectedness of parents with their own child versus an unfamiliar child (p <.001, d = 3.41) or an unfamiliar adult (p <.001, d = 3.13). Parents reported higher levels of connectedness with an unfamiliar adult versus an unfamiliar child (p = .002, d = 0.27). In addition, they reported more positive feelings about their own child versus an unfamiliar child (p <.001, d = 2.92) and unfamiliar adult (p <.001, d = 2.33), and more positive feelings about an unfamiliar adult versus an unfamiliar child (p <.001, d = 0.60). Lastly, parents reported a better mood after videos of their own child versus an unfamiliar child (p <.001, d = 0.79), unfamiliar adult (p <.001, d = 0.64), and self (p <.001, d = 0.79). Reported mood of parents did not significantly differ after videos of an unfamiliar child, an unfamiliar adult or the self (all p-values >.338). There was a significant interaction between gaze direction and target on parents’ feelings of connectedness (χ2(2) = 8.86, p = .012) and feelings about the targets (χ2(2) = 6.35, p = .042), showing that the difference in affect between the direct and averted gaze condition (Δdirect minus averted gaze) was smaller after the own child videos compared to the unfamiliar child and adult videos (Figure 2.2). There was no significant interaction between gaze direction and target for self-reported mood. To assess the impact of prolonged eye contact on parents’ feelings of connectedness with the targets, their feelings about the targets, and their mood, we compared parents’ ratings of the static pictures of the targets prior to the scan session with their ratings after the direct gaze videos of each target in the first and second block of the task. These analyses revealed that prolonged eye contact in our task enhanced parents’ feelings about the targets and their feelings of connectedness, but it did not enhance parents’ mood, compared to their ratings to the static pictures (see Supplement S2.2 for more details).
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