If you ever think that somebody is watching you because you can feel the back of your neck tickling?
You’re not alone. In fact, between 68-94% of people believe that this sensation is caused by their bodies ‘knowing’ that they are being watched.
However, is this a lie we tell ourselves? Is this a simple way of comforting ourselves that we have an instinct that will protect us against being watched by people we’d rather weren’t looking?
Or do our bodies actually know?
Can we really sense when we’re being watched?
Well, sadly, not really.
I know, I was convinced I had this fancy sixth sense too, but according to the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, not so much.
The experts said: “Sadly for those who wish we were X-men, it appears much of the body of research supporting the “psychic staring effect” appears to be suffering from methodological issues, or unexplained experimenter effects.
“For example, when certain experimenters act as the watcher in these experiments, they seem to be more “successful” at getting people to detect their stares than other experimenters. It is almost certainly an unconscious bias, perhaps due to initial interactions with the experimenter.”
What about the times when you think you’re being watched, turn around to look and there is somebody staring right at you? Surely that’s some spidey sense we’ve got locked in?
Again, no.
The experts explained: “If you feel like you are being watched, and turn around to check – another person in your field of view might notice you looking around and shift their gaze to you. When your eyes meet, you assume this individual has been looking all along.
“Situations where this happens are more memorable than when you look around to find no one looking at you.”
Ah, there go my dreams of being secretly psychic.