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The watching eyes phenomenon: The role of a sense of being seen and public self‐awareness
Author(s) -
Pfattheicher Stefan,
Keller Johannes
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2122
Subject(s) - phenomenon , psychology , prosocial behavior , social psychology , self awareness , cognitive psychology , quantum mechanics , physics
In recent years, a growing number of researchers have examined the watching eyes phenomenon (i.e . , increased prosocial and decreased antisocial behavior when subtle watching eyes are present in the environment). Somewhat surprisingly, the questions of how and under what conditions subtle cues of being watched operate have been unanswered so far. The present contribution addresses this research gap. In two studies, we document that (a) subtle cues of being watched induce a sense of being seen and (b) chronic public self‐awareness moderates the watching eyes phenomenon in that specifically individuals with strong chronic public self‐awareness show more prosocial behavior under conditions of watching eyes. The applicability of subtle cues of being watched in research on social presence is discussed.