Title: The Psychology of Feeling Like You’re Being Watched -- Science of Us
Headings: The Psychological Explanation for When You Feel Like You’re Being Watched
The Psychological Explanation for When You Feel Like You’re Being Watched
Because your eyes pick up on more than you know.
Because you can think your way into feeling.
Because gaze is extremely important.
Because you often wrongly assume that you’re being looked at …
… but that can actually be a good thing.
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Content: You look up and, sure enough, someone across the car is looking right at you. Your eyes meet briefly, then you look away, slightly spooked. You feel too uncomfortable to check again to see if the stranger is still staring, but your body tells you she is; your neck continues to tingle, as if her eyes are brushing it up and down. Most of us have experienced the feeling of being watched at some point, whether the gaze is unwanted (a creepy train stranger) or desired (an attractive new acquaintance at your friend’s house party). The sensations accompanying this phenomenon can sometimes feel almost paranormal —it’s as if you can physically feel the eyes of others boring into you, even without looking, or like you have a second pair of eyes on the back of your head. Obviously, though, you don’t. Which kind of makes a person wonder: What makes us feel like we’re being watched, even when we can’t see the watcher? And why, when we have that strange feeling, are we so often right?