So when you look at someone’s face for a while, it feels like it zooms in and I couldn’t find any answer to this question online. can someone explain it for me?
In: 0
There’s no visual “zoom.” There’s just your brain clearing processing space for whatever you’re paying attention to.
It’s the same way that video games can still feel immersive and surrounding even when the monitor they’re displayed on isn’t actually taking up 100% of your eye’s visual field.
There’s a lot going on around you at all times. Stuff at the edges of your peripheral vision. Sounds in the background. The feel of air on your skin. If your brain was constantly paying attention and processing everything equally, it would get overwhelmed. Instead, it chooses what to pay attention to, and drops the rate at which it processes everything else.
We are primed by evolution to pay close attention to human faces, because even small changes (brief or very slight expressions, etc.) can have big ramifications for us socially. So our brains tend to auto-focus on human faces in front of us. Just like a video game on a monitor, that can make them feel bigger than they are.
Latest Answers