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: It’s also possible that you subconsciously noticed that person staring at you before you turned your back, and your memory alerted you to the fact several minutes later. … but that can actually be a good thing. Let’s face it, we humans are self-centered beasts — beasts that once upon a time had to survive a far greater risk of violent threats than we do now. We’re sensitive to gaze, researchers believe, because that sensitivity can be a tool for survival. “ Direct gaze can signal dominance or a threat, and if you perceive something as a threat, you would not want to miss it,” Colin Clifford, a cognitive scientist at the University of New South Wales and one of the co-authors of the Current Biology study, explained in a statement. “So assuming that the other person is looking at you may simply be a safer strategy.” Eye contact can also signal other kinds of connection, he added: “ Direct gaze is often a social cue that the other person wants to communicate with us, so it’s a signal for an upcoming interaction.” Staring, in other words, can signal intimacy as well as danger — both things we need to pay attention to for our own well-being. Besides, to varying degrees, we’re all victims to the superiority illusion, thinking of ourselves that we’re healthier, more moral, more observant, and all around better than everyone else — so why not add “more likely to command a stranger’s attention” to the list?