Sometimes we feel uneasy when we are walking down the street, sitting in a cafe or walking around the park, in short, when we are in a place with a lot of people. At first we cannot understand why, and this makes us even more restless.
Then we have a feeling: ‘Am I being watched?’ We’ve all experienced this situation. The feeling that two pairs of eyes are staring at us while we’re sitting somewhere, even if we can’t see them. The strangest thing is that this feeling corresponds to 90% of the time, someone is really watching us. So how do we detect when someone is watching us? Today we will answer this question.
This may be because humans share common sense
According to neurological studies, brain cells have a very sharp level of perception of vision. If someone turns their gaze even a little bit from you, this feeling disappears immediately. Perceiving gazes is the product of a very complex neural network, according to scientists.
Studies have not yet discovered which neural network controls this perception in humans, but the amygdala part of the brain that detects threats is thought to be related to gaze perception. The reason for this is that when a person in front of us turns his attention to something, we automatically look in that direction.
The only reason for this is not only because of our hunting instincts from the past, but because as humans we are prudent beings. Humans have tremendous common sense and can feel and think the same things when in groups, and this is something that has been around since our prehistoric ancestors. ‘What are you talking about, Mr. Webtekno?’ You might say, this is why:
According to some parts of the scientific world, the reason you feel someone is watching you is because of common sense and people can have the same feelings. Our development, social nature and collaborative nature since prehistoric times may cause us to perceive this feeling.
The structure of the eye also plays a big role
We mentioned in the previous sub-title that perceiving the gaze of others is related to a neurological process in the brain, but it’s not just about the brain. Our eyes are also specially shaped to sense the gaze directed at us.
The eye structure of humans is different from almost all other living things. The area of the sclera surrounding the pupil is very large and completely white, making it easy to distinguish the gaze of others. The sclera of many animals, unlike humans, is smaller and the pupil covers a larger part of the eye, so they can hide their gaze from their prey. Since this is not the case with humans, we can sense the gaze even if we are not aware of it.
How exactly do we feel when someone is looking at us?
It is often easy for us to tell if someone is looking at us because the human eye is optimized for easy perception of gaze. For example, if someone sitting directly opposite you on the train is looking at you, you can sense the direction of their gaze without looking directly at them. We can detect such gazes only within four degrees of our central point of view.
Of course, it doesn’t need to be directly within a four-degree angle. From a peripheral point of view, our brain can also combine several elements to understand when someone is looking at us. For example, our brain may combine the last position or movement of people’s heads that we saw (such as turning towards us), giving the feeling that we are looking at us.
We can sense head or body movements when the potential audience is in the dark or wearing sunglasses because our brains combine it. Of course, this feeling is not always right. It turns out that in some cases people overestimate the likelihood of other people looking at them. Here, the amygdala, the threat perception part of the brain we mentioned earlier, comes into play, and even if it is not, it creates the impression that someone is watching us and prepares for possible threats.
So what is the feeling of someone behind us watching?
But what about the feeling that someone out of your field of vision, for example behind you, is watching us? Is it really possible to feel it? This has actually been a topic of scientific research for a long time. Some studies report that 94% of people feel a gaze on them and turn their backs to find out that they are indeed being watched, and find someone following them.
This is actually an unconscious bias. If you feel that you are being watched and you turn around to check, someone else in your line of sight may notice you are looking around and turn their gaze towards you, as we have said, humans are prudent beings. When you turn your back and look at the person you see, you assume that this person has been looking at you all along.
Actually, that’s what it’s all about. These types of situations are more memorable than those when you look around and can’t find someone looking at you. Therefore, if you feel that someone you will never see again is watching you, remember that your mind may be playing tricks on you.
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