What's with eye contact?

The eyes are the doorway to the soul. You can tell allot about what a person is going through by the look in their eyes and some are pretty and open and some needy and seclusive and some are closed and calculated. Depends on your character you may have different reasons why you look into some persons eyes and not others. If you don't look into their eyes it may mean you are trying to hide something or are afraid of what you see in theirs. If you do it may be that you are searching/ interested or just feel at ease. Or it could be that both are "closed" to one another and come forth as professional. Or both are "open" to share their souls. There are many things you can do with your eyes "open" them even if they are already, "look" with them, "close" them even if they are open. Normally it shows what the soul is experiencing through emotions.

I think people subconsciously assess the person that they are in the vicinity of and you set up up a sort of hierarchy and people that are higher up on this hierarchy- you tend to find more difficult to look in the eye. And I also agree with what homer says too.

I am not an expert on the science behind it but I think this has to do with the energy you or the person you are with is emitting. Sometimes, it happens when you look at someone directly in the eye or other times being in their presence is enough to feel it but it definitely is an energy thing.

It could also be related to your own comfort level, your insecurities. If you think that the person you are talking to is really HOT -both guys or girls- you might subconsciously think that he or she is superior to you and as a result you create a negative vibe on your own and feel pressured by it.

At times when I feel pressured in such circumstances, I use my little trick of ownership. I think to myself that I own the place and am the host, whether be a bar, restaurant or even the park. By doing so, I feel like I have the upper hand (because it is my territory) and that I need to be a good host so I start being in my best mood to make sure everyone is well taken care of and so on. And when I do that, I regain the positive vibe which then doesn't easily crash against the negative vibes I might be getting from around me. Somewhat trying to force my subconscious back to the positive and keeping it there.