Why do you sometimes simply ‘feel’ that somebody is looking at you?
In: Biology
[https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/why-is-it-you-can-sense-when-someones-staring-at-you](https://bigthink.com/philip-perry/why-is-it-you-can-sense-when-someones-staring-at-you)
>Humans are sensitive to the gaze of others. When another person changes the direction of their attention, we automatically follow their gaze. It’s more than just being predators, who as a group are naturally sensitive and drawn toward changes in the environment. It also has to do with the cooperative and social nature of humans and how we’ve depended on one another throughout our history and development.
>
>Another reason, if you look at human eyes in contrast to other animals, the sclera or white part surrounding the pupil is far larger. In most other species, the pupil takes up most of the eye. This is to obscure their eyes from predators. But for humans, a larger sclera allows us to notice the direction of each other’s gaze quickly.
>
>Of course, we don’t have to be looking directly at someone to tell whether or not they’re staring at us. We can also evaluate the direction of their attention through our peripheral vision. But this method is much less accurate. A pair of studies finds that we can only accurately detect whether or not someone is staring at us within four degrees of our [“central fixation point.”](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18986070)
>
>It isn’t always about seeing another’s eyes. With our peripheral vision, we consider the position of their head. And other clues such as how their body is positioned lend to whether we think they’re looking at us or not. What if we’re not sure? Just to be safe, [the brain errs on the side of caution](http://www.pnas.org/content/99/14/9602.short). It assumes we’re being stared at, if there’s any doubt.
>
>So what about when we feel someone staring from behind? According to a 2013 study published in the journal [*Current Biology*](http://www.cell.com/current-biology/abstract/S0960-9822(13)00332-1), that’s just a fail-safe. Humans are [hardwired ](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2308318/Think-someones-staring-Youre-paranoid–hard-wired-brains.html)to think that someone is starting at us when we can’t see them, even if we have no evidence to suggest so.
>
>Psychology Professor Colin Clifford of the University of Sydney’s Vision Centre, found that when people can’t tell where a person is looking, they automatically assume they’re looking at them. “A direct gaze can signal dominance or a threat, and if you perceive something as a threat, you would not want to miss it,” he said. “So simply assuming another person is looking at you may be the safest strategy.”
TL;DR: We have hardwired systems in our brain that enable us to detect when someone is staring at us due to our ability to easily recognize another person’s eyes, even through peripheral vision. Sometimes, we may feel that someone is staring at us even if we can’t even see them, this is a hardwired instinct designed to protect us from predators.
Latest Answers