Gazing or staring can be fearful not only to kids but to individuals as well to denote, the stance, "I know what you did last summer." It also depends on the kind of gaze and stare because if the person who poses question has relevant knowledge of the person who did the act that gaze or stare with the eyeballs being focused, and with a certain gait, can contrived the other person to give up his or her deception. I have done this quite a number of times during recruitment interviews and interview employees on certain grievance matters. Of course when asking the question one has to be firm and resolute. I am not sure whether that creates a 'fear' of sorts. Perhaps need to measure the activities in the amygdala. Or perhaps, it's the fear of being caught. So in that sense, is that really a 'punishment' of sorts, especially towards a child?
I suppose it could be.
Some cultures (Hindi?) might even call "staring" inappropriate, especially when targeted at the opposite sex.
You're right. Not even in Indian subcultures but also it's also inappropriate in many cultures as well. Staring or gazing can be a rude or inappropriate gesture towards the opposite sex. In gangsterism culture, it could even spark a war of sorts and not necessarily about borderland issues. Nevertheless, is it ethical to conduct studies on kids in this manner?
Obviously one cannot really answer the question without considering: the child's age, the social-cultural environment, the relational context with the staring person (foreign, well-known, familiar, etc...), his or her facial expression (even if the face is "neutral", that is an expression), the child's relational history (attachment, social emotional development, ...), etc... Fear is very individual and depends on context, even for a child.
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