Why do some people stare at you?

There are times when being on the bus, in a meeting or simply on the street, there are people who stare at you. At that moment we think of everything: that our fly is open, our shirt is inside out, that he didn’t like our shoes or, on the contrary, that we have caught his positive attention in some way.

Unless we decide to start a conversation with that person and ask them, it is unlikely that we will know what specifically they were observing. However, psychology has a series of knowledge that can help us glimpse the reasons for this uncomfortable or, sometimes, flattering event.

Why are you looking at me?

When you see people staring at you, the first thing you ask yourself is why. This is a common occurrence in which we are all participants.. For this reason, experts in social psychology also want to know what reasons there may be behind it. Thus, a research group from the University of London has carried out a study with the aim of tracking the eye movements of people who observe.

The main conclusion of this research was that People stare attentively at the non-verbal language. That is, when someone stares at us it is because they need to obtain more information about us. And non-verbal language, especially that of the face and eyes, provides a lot of information about the person’s mental state.

The eyes specifically have a lot of relevant social information, which can help deduce what you are thinking about.. On the other hand, maybe if we are doing something; For example, closing a bottle or searching for something in the bag, whoever is watching us is trying to understand what we are doing and analyzing how we do it. Or, if she is noticing our hand gestures while we talk.

We are a bit gossipy by nature and, after all, Our main source of learning is the observation of others. Thus, another motivation we have to look at others has to do with our interest in learning. For example, fixing a bike puncture.

How is it possible to feel when they observe us?

In this context a curious event also takes place. Suddenly, something inside us makes us feel that someone has been staring at us. We turn our heads and, exactly, we lock eyes. How is this possible? Do we have a sixth sense that warns us of someone’s gaze? In psychology, This event is called “gaze perception.”

Apparently, There are two aspects of our evolution that have helped us detect that someone is looking at us quickly. On the one hand, the physiognomy of the human eye itself. On the other hand, the adaptive and survival value of capturing glances directed at us in order to escape a possible threat.

Unlike many animals, The human eye has a very large sclera (the white part of the eyes). This allows us to better discriminate where the person is looking, based on the position of the pupil. Thus, even at great distances, we perceive very reliably if someone is watching us. Almost even without noticing it very consciously, thanks to our peripheral vision.

On the other hand, eye contact has been of vital importance for us. It gives us information about intentions, tastes and emotions. Thus, given that it is the most powerful non-verbal social signal we have, our brain is prepared and predisposed to find exchanges of glances with other people.

A natural process

When you feel that there are people staring at you and, indeed, there are, think that It is a natural human process. We are curious to observe and obtain information about everything that surrounds us. Even, as indicated above, the observer may actually be implicitly learning something of her interest.

Now, the reasons beyond satisfying their attention and studying our non-verbal behavior, we will only know if we are able to ask the person.

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