Our brain is so mysterious that even a thousand years will not be enough to study all the intricacies of its work and explain its incredible capabilities. Have you ever had a sudden feeling of unease or a slight tingling in the back of your head?
These sensations forced you to look around and “identify” the threat. In fact, such phenomena are the result of our brain’s perception of someone else’s gaze.
“Not all of a person’s perception is provided by his senses,” writes social psychologist Ilan Shrira. – The brain also has special “systems” of perception. This concept may seem confusing, but it actually makes sense: the feeling of being looked at should be seen as a manifestation of the survival instinct."
Some mammals can accurately detect when other animals are looking at them. But the human eye detection system works especially well at a distance. After all, when someone looks at you, you determine exactly in which direction you should “look.”
This "detection system" is very sensitive when someone is looking directly at you. Studies have confirmed this: certain brain cells begin to activate when this happens.
“The ability of people to perceive another's gaze indicates that humans are social beings who are able to communicate not only through speech, verbal, paraverbal and non-verbal means, but also through instinct,” says Colin Clifford, a doctorate in psychology from the University of Sydney. “From our results, it follows that the human brain does a lot of work that we don’t even think about. After all, every time you encounter discomfort from someone’s gaze, you don’t understand how you felt it.”
When you “catch” someone’s gaze on you, you immediately try to find its “author”. And as soon as you “detect” a person, other mechanisms immediately turn on: the brain analyzes the distance to the “observer”, the position of his body, head, eyes, his movements and, of course, possible threats. All this happens in a split second. Peripheral vision also plays an important role in the process, providing information about the environment at the time of a “potential threat.”
Surprisingly, as a result of Dr. Clifford's research, it became known that in the dark the ability to detect the “observer” is significantly dulled. In addition, during daylight hours, especially in summer, it is more difficult to find the “author” of a look: respondents in 46% of cases were unable to find the “right” person in conditions when most of those around them were wearing sunglasses. Thus, Mr. Clifford concluded that in situations where we are not sure where the human “observer” is, our brains report such situations with unpleasant sensations only if there is an opportunity for potential interaction.
“Direct gaze can signal dominance or threat, and if your brain perceives someone else's gaze as threatening, it directs you to seek out the observer,” says Dr. Clifford. – And when you feel a threat, you don’t want to lose sight of its source? Therefore, in this case, the described reaction of the brain to someone else’s gaze can be called a manifestation of the instincts of self-preservation and survival.”
2015-09-18
Have you ever had the feeling that someone was literally staring at the back of your head? At the same time, you feel a chill run through your skin and run down your spine. Some people believe that this is just paranoia and nothing more. However, some studies suggest the opposite.
The ability to sense when someone is looking at us, even if we cannot see them, is responsible for a special system in our brain. This system is especially sensitive to direct views. Studies of the phenomenon have shown the activity of individual brain cells when someone looks directly at you, but when the other person looks away a couple of degrees, the activity disappears. Thus, our brains subconsciously catalog and characterize different views. But why is it so important that nature created a special system?
Our peripheral visual system is responsible for this awareness. The first things we usually notice are the position of the other person's head and body. If they are directed in your direction, the brain records this. The most obvious is when someone's back is to you, but their head is turned towards you. This is where the second stage of gaze detection comes into play.
Human eyes differ in appearance from the eyes of other animals. What unique properties are inherent in the human eye?
The biggest difference is that human eyes are easily distinguished by their dark center (pupil and iris) from the rest of the visible eyeball (sclera, white part). In many animals, the iris covers most of the eye, and the sclera of other animals tends to be darker than that of humans. This design of the eye allows you to clearly say in which direction the gaze is directed. If we notice that the eyes on the right are whiter, then the pupil and, accordingly, the gaze is directed to the left and vice versa.
There may be several hypotheses why this happened, the most logical is that human survival began to depend on cooperation and coordination of our efforts with other people, communication skills increased their importance for our survival. We transmit a lot of information through our eyes, things like social cues and emotions. The development of the sclera greatly improved our ability to communicate with others for the same reason that our complex language abilities began to develop. Predators are loners; on the contrary, their less noticeable sclera is ideal. So it's really not surprising how much importance we place on looks.
You're riding on public transport, lost in thought, and suddenly something makes you turn around. You turn around and catch the stranger's gaze on you. And it seems to you that you turned around only because you “felt” how he was piercing you with his gaze - why else would you make this extra movement? Is this feeling familiar? Let's try to explain how and why this happens with the help of specialists.
Scientific experiments
The mystical explanation of this phenomenon is this: we feel the flows of energy that come from the gaze of other people, says psychologist and psychotherapist Denis Kozhevnikov. - But I, as a man of science, do not quite believe in this version. As long as there are no scientifically confirmed and substantiated facts, you can believe in anything .
Scientists are trying to unravel this phenomenon and conduct experiments. The results are impressive.
Denis Kozhevnikov told how he participated in one of these studies. It was carried out using an electroencephalogram (EEG). A couple was connected to the EEG system - a man and a woman. The study showed that when a man looked at a photo of a woman, coherent (that is, coordinated) connections of electrical signals were built in a certain way in his cerebral cortex. At this moment, the woman’s brain also formed coherent connections with a 70% coincidence. When the participants changed roles, the situation was repeated.
This fact has been registered, but we don’t yet have an explanation for this phenomenon,” says Denis Kozhevnikov. - We periodically conduct such studies. And the coincidences of coherent connections are always confirmed.
According to the expert, the simplest explanation for why we feel someone else's gaze is this. When a person walks down the street (riding in public transport, etc.), he never looks at one point in front of him. We constantly look at everything that surrounds us. In order for us to take the next step, our brain calculates many operations - we don’t even realize it, it happens automatically. We pay attention to the shadows that surround us, to sounds, colors, light.
For example, you are walking and a person is following you, from whom a shadow is falling. The self-defense instinct kicks in. I see this shadow and turn around to see who is there looking at me. The moment I turn around, the person walking behind will instinctively look into my eyes,” explains Denis Kozhevnikov. - For him, I act as an unexpected obstacle, and he needs to pay attention to this. In this way I provoke him to look at me.
According to the psychotherapist, “feeling” someone’s gaze in transport is also quite simple to explain. The gaze directed in your direction is already recorded by you outside your conscious field of vision. There are many reflections in the subway, many other people looking at the situation. A person in his consciousness does not pay attention to small details, but unconscious processes record all these changes in the environment. Therefore, an illusion is created: someone is looking at me, I understand it, I turn around - and they really look.
You're just suspicious
My professional opinion is clear: a person is not able to feel the gaze of other people,” says clinical psychologist Ivan Alimenko. -Due to his fantasies, he can only assume that someone is looking at him.
According to him, it is possible to identify certain types of character that suggest a tendency towards such fantasies. This includes people with an anxious and suspicious character (for them there is a lot of anxiety in the air), people who lack attention (they unconsciously want to be looked at).
The psychologist emphasizes: the belief that you can feel eyes on your back is a sign of mental pathology. 
How to develop the ability to feel gaze
The artistic director of the theater-studio "Reflection" Sergei Pimenov says that there are special acting trainings aimed at developing sensitivity. To play on stage, an actor needs his nervous system to be able to detect the emotional fluctuations of his partner at a distance.
A real-life example: in a supermarket, a girl can feel the interested gaze of a young man,” he said. - Why did she catch it? Because the guy, through his gaze, conveyed his feeling to her at a distance. In the same way, actors train themselves to be able to convey their feelings at a distance and capture them.
As Oksana Zashirinskaya, Doctor of Psychology, said, the easiest way to learn this is to people who belong to the “cognitive” category.
There are people among us who are hypersensitive to everything they see and hear,” she said. - Cognitiveness, on the one hand, can protect us from some external manifestations, but, on the other hand, it begins to get a little boring. Because we take in too much information and try to apply it.
The psychologist says that the ability to sense prying eyes can be developed through training.
For example, you feel like people are looking at you from behind,” she says. - Fine. Turn around and look behind you. They look great. Now you need to think about what signs you used to determine this, what helped you accurately guess. It is always everyone’s individual experience and desire to develop.
Ecology of life: A person's perspective has enormous power. His gestures, gait, and facial features can tell a lot about a person and his character, but I think hardly anyone will deny that the main source of information about a person is his eyes, or rather, his gaze. A look can say a lot about a person’s inner world.
Eyes are clearer than words,
Words sometimes only obscure the meaning...
And the look... Well, will it deceive?
Someone who can read it.
A person's gaze has enormous power. His gestures, gait, and facial features can tell a lot about a person and his character, but I think hardly anyone will deny that the main source of information about a person is his eyes, or rather, his gaze. A look can say a lot about a person’s inner world.
It has long been noted that a person can influence those around him with his gaze. A look can convey the whole gamut of feelings - love, hatred, contempt, regret, gratitude..... It is no coincidence that there are such expressions as “caress with a glance”, “a look gives goosebumps”, “admired look”, “arrogant look”.
From all this the conclusion involuntarily suggests itself: the look has energy.
The gaze is a powerful force with which you can blind, charm, control and manipulate people. With a glance you can subjugate yourself, with a glance you can neutralize the hostile intentions of a person or an animal.
If you look closely at a person for a while, he will definitely feel it. Scientists decided to test this ability to feel someone else's gaze on them experimentally.
The experiment, in which 100 people took part, was carried out as follows. A person was seated in the center of the room, and a second person was seated behind him so that the subject could not see him. And this second one had to periodically look intently at the person sitting in front of him. If the subject felt the gaze, he spoke about it. The results were stunning. In 95 cases, people felt another person's gaze directed at them.
History has brought to us the names of famous personalities who possessed a special, magical look that people could not withstand and looked away. Caligula, Ivan the Terrible, Paul I, Hitler, Stalin possessed a heavy, bewitching gaze, which made many feel uneasy.
There are cases in history when people killed with the power of their gaze. In this way, members of the caste of hired killers that existed in Alexandria in the pre-Christian period dealt with undesirables. The look of a man who lived in Sicily in the mid-19th century had a similar feature.
The gaze of a person in a state of extreme emotional excitement, in a state of passion, is extremely dangerous. They knew about this in ancient times. That's why people were blindfolded before execution. By the way, the executioners who carried out the death sentence died very early, as a rule, before reaching the age of 40.
How do representatives of modern science feel about all this?
Research in the field of telepathy and biological radio communication was carried out by the Soviet scientist Kazhinsky (1890-1962). He put forward a hypothesis that the human eye not only sees, but also simultaneously emits electromagnetic waves with certain frequency characteristics.
The Nobel laureate in the field of physiology and medicine, Ronald Ross (1857-1932), shared the same opinion. The scientist conducted a series of experiments during which subjects were asked to use their gaze to influence a tiny magnetic needle suspended on a silk thread. And many managed to turn the needle with their eyes.
In 1989, Soviet scientists conducted a somewhat unusual experiment for those years, the purpose of which was to test the paranormal abilities of Anna Lokhatkina, a well-known healer in those years. She was asked to use her gaze to influence a laser beam passing through a hollow cylinder. A few minutes after the start of the experiment, a gray haze appeared in the cylinder, and a few minutes later the laser beam simply disappeared. It was at this moment that the device used to constantly monitor the healer’s eyes recorded a short-term sharp dilation of the woman’s pupils.
Based on a number of experiments and studies, a version was put forward that the main channel for transmitting eye energy is the pupil.
Even in ancient times, it was believed that the size of the pupils was associated with vitality: A person full of life has larger pupils than an old or seriously ill person. The pupils dilate when a person has a need for information, which is why they are dilated in children.
The pupils dilate at times of danger or stress, when a person needs as much information as possible to make a decision. The pupils narrow in a tired person who has lost interest in life, which also indirectly confirms the version that energy is transmitted through the pupil - the narrowing of the pupil prevents the outflow of energy reserves from the body.
This might interest you:
Today in this area there are more assumptions and hypotheses than proven facts. One we can say with confidence - a person’s gaze, which is one of the main means of communication between people, can have both a beneficial effect and cause enormous and sometimes irreparable harm. published
To look and be the object of other people's gazes - what could be more natural? In transport, in a store, on the road, at school and at work...
We meet other people everywhere, look at them and give them our views. It seems to fill life with some meaning. It seems that since they look at us, it means they see us, and we exist. Therefore, sometimes the complete visual indifference of others hurts...
What are the different views? Why do we feel other people's gazes? What kind of game is this “staring contest”? How to learn to play it and win constantly? We tried to collect in this article all the most interesting things about the look for you.
What are the views?
The universal definition of gaze is as follows. This is one of several ways the eyes convey nonverbal information. Let's figure out what the look is like.
Types of gaze depending on reflected emotions
A person is able to reflect with his gaze a huge number of emotions that he experiences. Or he can control himself perfectly and not show or express anything at all with his eyes.
Conventionally, we divide views into positive (carrying positive emotions) and negative (carrying negative emotions). 
In order not to devote a huge amount of time to all varieties of positive views, let's do this. Imagine the most pleasant look that you can give or feel yourself - the look of love. This is how a man looks at a woman and a woman looks at a man, this is how parents look at their children, and children look at their parents.
This look expresses at the same time a huge number of feelings - affection, tenderness, sympathy, approval, admiration... We reward with this look those who are truly dear to us.
So, the look of love combines a huge number of positive views.
For example, we look at a friend with admiration. Isn't this part of the look of love? To a colleague - with approval, and to someone else's child - with tenderness. It's the same here. So, if you want to become the owner of a list of positive looks that a person can bestow on another person, dissect the look of love. You can do it!
Let's do the same with negative views. First, let's choose a landmark.
Perhaps the most powerful negative look is the look of hatred. It combines a huge amount of the most negative emotions. We look this way at the people we really hate, the people who cause our deepest dislike.
Do you want to imagine all kinds of negative views? Judgmental? Aggressive? A look of disgust? Disgusts? Divide the gaze of hatred.
Another classification of views
Now let's look at another classification of views.
Direct look.
This is when a person openly looks directly at you for some period of time without taking his eyes off. It may indicate that the interlocutor is interested in you, in communicating with you.
Most often it is characteristic of people who respect themselves and others, strong personalities.
Squinted gaze.
This is when a person squints one eye when communicating with you. Indicates some kind of mistrust, a desire to control your actions. It often signals that a person wants to hide something himself or find out what you are hiding. Agree, this look is not very pleasant.
Wandering glance.
A person cannot stop looking, calm down. His eyes wander to nearby objects and nearby people.
He will tell you about the interlocutor’s endless interest in everything around him or about his complete lack of interest in anything, including you. Sometimes a person cannot concentrate due to excessive modesty or shyness.
Wide-eyed look.
Used most often by those who want to attract attention. Very often sellers look at buyers this way. Or they take advantage of open-minded women who are desperately trying to attract men.
Sideways glance.
If a person is unsure of himself, or he wants to get more visual information and is trying to hide it, most likely he will use sideways glances. In such cases, the eyes look in one direction, periodically running away to the side and immediately returning.
Eyes to eyes.
This is when two people look directly into each other's eyes for a fairly long period of time. Most often, it is characteristic of children, as well as couples in love.
A look from half-closed eyes.
This is probably familiar to each of us. The upper eyelid in this case almost covers the eye. This is how a person expresses indifference to what is happening, boredom.
It also often indicates that a person is tired and that he is making every effort to fight sleep. Or half-closed eyes can talk about complete surrender, a feeling of unity (during sexual intimacy).
Looking through a person.
It seems that the interlocutor does not see you, is busy with his own thoughts, that he is not here, despite his physical presence. Indicates inattention, thoughtfulness, or, ignoring, hostility towards the interlocutor. Causes negative feelings.
View from above.
With this look, the head is thrown back a little, the person seems to be looking down at you. He will tell you about a slightly arrogant attitude towards you, about contempt, about arrogance.
There is a sense of tension and persistence in him. It is often seen as an intrusion into the personal, intimate sphere of another person. In our society it is often perceived as hostile.
Why do we feel another person's gaze on us?
This happens. You're sitting in public transport, or on a park bench, and suddenly you really want to turn around. And when you turn around, you see that some person is looking at you.
A split second later he already looks away. Are you already looking at the stranger with interest and asking yourself in surprise what could interest him?
So why do we feel other people's views? Let us present to your attention several points of view.
A little about physics.
When we look at someone, we direct a narrowly directed beam of light at him (a stream of photons that has its own energy). Since human skin is incredibly sensitive, it senses the energy coming from another person. This forces us to turn, for some unknown reason, to someone else.
Another option. A person catches part of the scattered light emanating from the beam of another person's gaze.
Views are best felt at a short distance - 3 - 5 meters.
A little about mysticism.
There is a point of view that the views of other people are captured thanks to the secret telepathic abilities of people. Like, we are all telepaths, but only some of us have realized our abilities and use them.
There are also opinions that with the help of a gaze, one person sends another a stream of positive or negative energy. And this flow is so powerful that it is impossible not to notice it.
A little about imitation.
Another point of view is based on the fact that it is human nature to imitate. This is when we tend to unconsciously repeat the actions of another person or feel his action.
For example, you really want to yawn when someone nearby yawns. All because of mirror neurons in the brain. They are the ones who make this or that action contagious.
Mirror neurons have not yet been studied. They are constantly evolving and, according to scientists, are the key to unraveling many interesting mysteries about man and his capabilities.
And also about logic and experience.
Some people are of the opinion that we sense other people's views due to our experience and logic. For example, based on the current situation, our subconscious tells us that at the moment someone is looking at us. For example, to ask for directions.
Remember that after you have eaten a large cake with protein cream on the street and haven’t looked in the mirror, you always feel like everyone is looking at you. Because your experience and intuition tell you that, quite likely, there are traces of past pleasure on your face, and everyone is paying attention to it.
Exercise for training your gaze
Some people love staring games. For those who don’t know, this is when two people look at each other continuously without blinking. The one who reconsiders the other wins. Those. will not blink longer.
The very first eternal winner of such a competition is Medusa the Gorgon. She never lost, and all her opponents turned to stone.
Staring is a common game at children's parties, among drunken men and teenagers. Some even manage to play with their cats and dogs.
The popularity of entertainment probably lies in the fact that the look in some special way reflects the essence of a person, his strength. Therefore, it seems to people that having won such a test, they seem to become mentally stronger than the loser.
There are many recommendations for those who love staring games and want to win constantly.
The funniest one.
It is based on the fact that a person cannot look into both eyes at the same time, and looks alternately into one and then into the other. Therefore, the player is asked to keep one eye, the one into which the enemy is looking at the moment, motionless.
The second one can do whatever he wants at this time - rotate, close, etc. Then the eyes change - the first one is resting, and the second one is working.
The picture when one eye turns around and blinks actively, and the second at this time is serious and motionless, is unlikely and very comical. Just wondering, how can an opponent not notice this? Will his peripheral vision really not notice that something wrong is going on with his opponent’s second eye?
The saddest one.
Do you want to always win a staring contest? During the staring contest, remember something terribly sad.
This will help, firstly, to get distracted and not concentrate on how hard it is not to blink.
Secondly, you won't laugh while playing. After all, the enemy can choose a tactic called “making your opponent laugh.” Therefore, have heart-warming stories ready about how an older boy hurt you in kindergarten, or how your beloved grandmother died.
The most effective.
To achieve the desired result, sit about a meter away from the mirror and look into your own eyes. Imagine that two rays come out of your eyes, connecting you with your own image. Try to watch without blinking for as long as possible.
Don't forget to time yourself before starting your workout! The next day, your task is to slightly increase the duration of the non-blinking gaze.
Instead of a mirror, use a black dot on the wall, a burning candle, etc.
Interesting thing about the look...
Scientists say that during a conversation, interlocutors look at each other approximately 60% of the time. The exception is lovers and aggressive individuals. If the distance between people increases, the duration of visual contact also increases.
It was also found that women most often look at those they like, and men - at those who like them.
In addition, ladies take a direct gaze as a sign of interest and a desire to establish some kind of contact. Men tend to perceive direct gaze as a threat.
If during communication a person’s pupils constrict, it means that the interlocutor evokes negative emotions in him, irritates or angers him. Dilation of the pupils, on the contrary, indicates disposition towards the interlocutor, interest in him and the conversation.
Don't try to recognize a liar by looking at him. It is believed that people who tell lies do not make eye contact, touch their face, etc.
However, there are those, and there are many of them, who are able to control themselves. They know how to focus their gaze in such a way that you will never guess in life whether a person is speaking the truth or a lie.
It is believed that the larger the populated area, the less inclined people in it are to consider each other.
This is due to the fact that a person can meet thousands of people in a day. It is difficult to pay attention to a large number of people, and besides, the probability of meeting someone you know tends to zero. Therefore, in big cities, residents prefer not to look at others at all.
In small towns it’s the other way around. There are few people, and you can meet someone you know on every corner. In villages this is how they generally greet everyone and look at each other closely.
In China and Japan, the tradition of views is somewhat different from the one that is familiar to us. In these countries it is not customary to look into each other's eyes.
