On a bustling street corner, you suddenly feel "someone is watching me." You turn around and truly sense a gaze. Or perhaps on a crowded train, you feel a stare from a particular direction, look up, and find that person is indeed looking at you. Many people have had such experiences at least once. Is it mere coincidence, or does our consciousness possess some unknown power not yet explained by science? We now approach the fascinating evidence of how this sensation of "being watched"—the power of the gaze—influences our behavior and the atmosphere around us. And this power has not only a positive aspect that drives people to action, but also a dimension we might call "the fear of the gaze"—one that can intimidate people and create anxiety about being monitored.Being Watched: The Intersection of Science and IntuitionIn the scientific world, vision is typically explained as a physical phenomenon arising from light striking the retina. However, the experience of "feeling that someone is watching you" contains a deeper mystery that cannot be fully explained by this physical description alone. It's as if the gaze itself transmits like physical energy, appealing to our tactile sensations and intuition.Rupert Sheldrake, a biologist known particularly for concepts such as "resonance" and "morphic fields," points out in his books "The Sense of Being Stared At" and "Seven Experiments That Could Change the World" that this sensation of "being watched" may not be mere psychological illusion. He has repeatedly conducted experiments asking subjects in blind conditions whether they feel they are being watched, obtaining statistically significant results. For example, many experiments have reported that when subjects felt they were "being watched," the probability that someone was actually staring at them exceeded chance probability by an average of about 20%. This suggests the possibility of some phenomenon at work that cannot be explained by sensory illusion alone. Sheldrake suggests that the gaze may not be merely light reflection, but that consciousness may somehow be "emitted" externally to influence others—a kind of "transmission of intention."There's also a theory that such sensations are remnants of an instinctive mechanism acquired through evolution to detect danger from predators. For instance, many animals have the ability to instinctively sense a predator's gaze and avoid danger. Humans may have inherited this survival-advantageous ability through our evolutionary process. However, even if it is instinctive, many mysteries remain from neuroscience and brain science perspectives about how this mechanism functions. For example, there's room for debate about whether the skin or other sensory organs detect some subtle change before visual information reaches the retina, or whether there's a more immaterial action of consciousness at work.How Gaze Changes Behavior: The Priming EffectThis sensation of "being watched" doesn't remain merely a subjective experience. In fact, various experiments and demonstrations have revealed that gaze clearly influences people's behavior and the atmosphere of a setting. This is also a deeply researched theme in social psychology and behavioral economics.For example, there's an interesting experiment conducted at Newcastle University in the UK. When an honesty box (payment box) was set up in the university café for students to pay for their coffee, the amounts deposited were typically low during normal weeks. However, when a "photo of human eyes" was posted on the wall near the box, the amounts deposited increased dramatically. This experiment alternated weeks with and without the eye photo, and results showed that donation amounts during weeks with the eye photo increased by an average of 2.7 times compared to weeks without it. This demonstrates that even a photograph creates a sense of "being watched" that stimulates people's conscience and social behavioral norms, having a deterrent effect on dishonesty. This can be interpreted as a type of "priming effect"—the visual cue of "being watched" unconsciously activates concepts like "social responsibility" and "honesty," influencing behavior.Furthermore, there's data on behavioral changes in retail stores. A major supermarket chain conducted an experiment displaying surveillance camera footage visibly to customers to analyze purchasing behavior. As a result, customers' hesitation when picking up products decreased, and shoplifting incidents dropped by about 15%. This is a case where the awareness of literally "being watched" guided consumer behavior in a more normative direction. In consumer psychology, the awareness of being evaluated can suppress impulse buying and promote more rational judgment.The power of gaze is also evident in workplace environments. Studies show differences in employee productivity when surveillance camera presence is clearly communicated to employees versus when it isn't. Research at a call center found that after informing employees of surveillance camera installation, their average call handling time shortened by about 8%, improving efficiency. This can be interpreted as a type of "Hawthorne effect"—the awareness of being monitored enhances individual performance. Employees strengthen their recognition that their behavior is being evaluated when watched, ultimately leading to improved productivity.The Interaction Between Gaze and IntuitionThe sensation of "being watched" and the resulting behavioral changes cannot be explained merely as a chain of physical stimulus and response—they are deeply connected to a deeper "sense," that is, non-verbal elements like intuition and resonance.Beyond our five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch), we possess difficult-to-verbalize "senses" such as "sixth sense for detecting danger" or "intuition for sensing the atmosphere." The influence of gaze is thought to work precisely in this realm of "sense."Sheldrake's concept of "morphic fields" offers insights for understanding this interaction of "senses." The morphic field he proposes is an invisible information field, and when individual consciousness resonates with this field, a kind of "collective unconscious" is formed that influences behavior and sensation. If gaze involves not just light reflection but something like subtle energy emitted by the "intention" or "consciousness" of the gazer, perhaps the one being watched perceives it not by directly seeing but as a kind of "sense." For example, when you suddenly feel a gaze and turn around while concentrating, your brain may be detecting some non-physical "presence" before receiving visual information.If we hypothesize that consciousness has quantum properties, perhaps the consciousness of the gazer and the gazed are somehow "entangled," and the act of "seeing" by one instantly triggers the "sense" of "being watched" in the other. Of course, this remains firmly in the realm of speculation, but it provides one framework for understanding phenomena that cannot be explained by existing physical laws.The Fear of the GazeHowever, the power of gaze doesn't always have positive aspects. Rather, that power can sometimes make us feel "fear," suppressing behavior and restricting freedom.Behind the workplace "Hawthorne effect" lurks stress and pressure from excessive surveillance. When employees constantly feel they are being watched, they may be deprived of autonomy and have their creativity inhibited. For example, workplaces with excessive introduction of surveillance cameras and performance management tools tend to see decreased employee engagement and increased turnover. One survey reported that in companies with strict surveillance systems, employee stress levels rose by an average of 20%, and the number of innovative idea proposals decreased by 10%. This is a typical example where surveillance transcends the positive stimulus of "being watched" and transforms into "fear" that threatens individual dignity.Moreover, technological evolution in modern society amplifies this "fear of the gaze." Security cameras on street corners, online behavior tracking, facial recognition systems, personal information disclosure on social media—all of these make the sensation that we are constantly "being watched, recorded, and analyzed" a daily reality. Every advertisement we casually click, keyword we search, website we visit, and "like" on social media is accumulated as massive data, and our behavioral patterns and preferences are inferred.This constant surveillance eye sometimes leads to self-censorship. Because we're so aware of being "watched," we hesitate to speak our true thoughts or choose only socially desirable behaviors. Particularly on public platforms like social media, there's a tendency for a "silent majority" to increase—people who refrain from expressing opinions for fear of criticism or backlash. This can lead to suppression of free speech and diverse opinion expression, potentially resulting in loss of social vitality and healthy debate.This situation evokes philosopher Michel Foucault's concept of the "Panopticon." In the Panopticon, prisoners discipline themselves even without actual surveillance present, simply by being conscious they might be constantly monitored. Modern society has become a massive digital Panopticon, and we live with the constant sensation of "being watched" by an invisible "system." This highlights an ethical dilemma of modern society: we sacrifice a certain freedom in exchange for convenience.Understanding the Ambiguity of Gaze and Living AutonomouslyThe sensation of "being watched" is not mere subjective illusion but holds the potential to be a powerful "power of the gaze" that actually influences our behavior and the atmosphere around us. While much of its mechanism remains unexplained, experimental and empirical data suggest this power unconsciously shapes our social norms and behaviors.We should recognize this invisible force of "being watched" both as a possibility for creating positive change and as a "fear" that threatens freedom. Like the honesty box experiment, we might use the power of gaze to appeal to people's conscience and encourage better social behavior. However, we must also deeply understand the possibility that excessive surveillance by corporations and governments could rob us of free decision-making and promote self-censorship.Ultimately, to unravel the mystery of this sensation of "being watched" and wisely utilize its power, we must continue scientific inquiry while deepening ethical discussion. Perhaps we're approaching a time when we must consciously reframe our awareness of always "being watched"—sometimes as an internal gaze that enhances autonomy, and sometimes as a field that creates resonance with others. How can we resist the "fear" of being monitored while protecting individual dignity and freedom while coexisting with technology? Finding answers to this question is an urgent task for those of us living in modern society.ReferencesRupert Sheldrake, "The Sense of Being Stared At and Other Unexplained Powers of Human Minds" (Park Street Press, 2003)Rupert Sheldrake, "Seven Experiments That Could Change The World" (Inner Traditions, 2002)Melissa Bateson, Daniel Nettle, Gilbert Roberts, "Cues of Being Watched Enhance Cooperation in a Real-World Setting" (Biology Letters, 2006)Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied (Studies on surveillance and productivity)The New York Times (Articles on privacy and facial recognition technology)Scientific American (Articles on the science of perception and intuition)Behavioral and Brain Sciences (Peer-reviewed articles on the sense of being stared at)Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Research on social norms and compliance)Michel Foucault, "Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison" (Penguin Books, 1991)Carl Jung, "The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious" (Princeton University Press, 1981)Quantum Mechanics and Consciousness (General academic discussions on the topic)