Essay Example on the Psychic Staring Effect: Fact or Fiction?

The psychic staring effect is a phenomenon where human beings can detect that other humans are staring at them using extrasensory means. There are many arguments that support and oppose the idea of psychic effects; hence more research needs to be done to find the truth. The psychic effect is also known as Scopaesthesia. The effects work in a manner that people are able to detect that other people are staring at them without being physically triggered. Staring is that act of prolonged and fixed look at someone else.

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The experience where people have a feeling that other people are staring at them from any direction has prompted researchers such as Rupert Sheldrake to research the matter and come up with conclusions that are disputed by other researchers. Rupert did the seven experiments to understand animals in general and their behaviors. From the experiments, Rupert was able to make conclusions based on the findings on how animals and human beings can detect instances that happen in their lives accurately. Through the experiments, Rupert was able to identify the different scientific beliefs that are taken for granted, and they exist. From the experiments, Rupert realized that there is a human extrasensory perception that it's a coincidence when people know and find other humans staring at them.

The majority of the participants in the experiments confirmed that they had been involved in many instances where they found other people staring at them. The participants of the research indicated that the coincidence of finding other people staring at them is a fiction that does not have any scientific explanation. Robert Baker explains that it's a psychological phenomenon where human's beings feel that other people are staring at them. He explains that the brain of a human being has special powers that trigger the feeling when someone is staring at you. The respondents in the experiments stated that curiosity is the main factor that makes them stare at other people - there a wide range of emotions associated with staring a person.

The theoretical explanation of why people find other people staring at them is because they are aware that people stare at other people; therefore, there is a high likelihood that people are staring at them. The theoretical explanation explains that since people are used to finding other people staring at them, then they keep looking around and finds the people that might be staring at them. The scientific explanation of why people find their colleagues staring at them is that there are mysterious explanations that influence the person to detect a person staring at them. The influences trigger the person to look around and find the person staring at them.

Consciousness is the concept that human beings and other animals' use that triggers the creatures when there is a change in the environment. The change of environment includes when other people are staring at you. The consciousness nature of human beings makes them change when a person is staring at them; hence there are high chances of finding other people staring at them. Consciousness gives the mind the power to know when other people are staring at the person. The consciousness provokes the brain to respond to external forces that inform the body of the environmental change.

When a person intensely stares at you, your nervous system may be affected. The ability to detect stares is prevalent among the soldiers, police officers, surveillance officers, as well as soldiers. People such as detective are equipped with skills that help them to get the required information. The professionals are advised not to stare to the people longer than necessary as this may make them turn. This indicates that people have the ability to sense when they are being stared at. People concentrate on the times that they caught someone staring at them and forget the times which they thought someone was staring at them, and upon looking, there was no one staring at them. One of how the sense of being stared at works is through mirrors. People can tell when someone is looking at them through the mirror. This happens especially in bars, and when it does, the person who is being stared at may turn around and look through the mirror.

The sense of being stared at is directional hence the reason why people turn to the direction which they believe that the staring is originating from. The person detects the direction from which staring is originating from, and this signifies the intensity of the stares and the ability of the person to detect that someone is staring. People who believe that they have the power to recognize when they are being stared at having the ability to identify the direction of the staring is coming form correctly. This is evidence that supports psychic staring.

People stare for reasons such as anger, sexual desire, or general admiration. However, it is not easy to experiment with the reason behind a person's staring, but the quality of the gaze tells a lot. The quality of the gaze can be measured by comparing the gaze from different lookers. It is also not easy to test the emotions behind the staring. Although an individual can sense that someone is gazing at them, it is not always easy to tell who is staring.

The ability to detect the staring depends on one's senses hence the reason why one can tell when the staring begins and when it ends. One characteristic of senses is the ability to detect the changes as well as the differences. A person can easily feel when a person starts to look at her, and if she is patient, she can detect when the gazes fade away.

The concept of staring and staring at recognition does not occur to human beings only but is also evident in animals such as mice. Animals are sensitive, especially to the predators, and sometimes they fly as soon as they feel that they are under threat. A mouse, for example, detects the presence of a cat and immediately runs away to avoid getting harmed. If a person feels that the individual staring at her has ill motives, she is likely to act faster as compared to when they do not know the reasons why they are being gazed at. If the animals can detect when someone or something is staring at them, then human beings are more intelligent than animals, so they can psychically sense when someone is staring at them for whatever reason.

Having the ability to recognize when someone is staring at you is good for several reasons. First, someone may be staring at you because you are smart, and they admire you or because they are angry at you and planning on revenge. Detecting when you are being stared at can, therefore, make you stay alert and be prepared in case someone plans on attacking you. Animals use this tactic hence the reason why a bird may, for example, fly while you are just planning to hit it. Consciousness saves people from many unpleasant occurrences. The sense of detecting being stared is looked down upon by many, but it is very useful. Professionals in areas such as surveillance can benefit by understanding this concept and why they should not stare at a person for a long time.

There are arguments that counter the Sheldrake phenomenon; the counter-arguments include the argument that the people are not aware that there is a person or people staring at them. The argument against is based on the fact that the person being stared at is not sure that a particular person is staring at them because of the specific reason. Sheldrake's scientific argument is not valid because if one knows that someone is staring at them, then they should be able to know the reason. Sheldrake's argument has a weakness because not all the instances one finds another person staring at them, making the argument seem like a guess answer.

The other argument against the Sheldrake phenomenon is that not all instances are of being stared at; there are other incidences when all the parties are looking around, and they may think that the other person is staring at them. In such instances, the Sheldrake claims of having a phenomenon that triggers the person is not correct. Such instances are mere coincidence. The people staring at others should also have a chance of disruptions when they are checking other people that are staring at them also. The Sheldrake phenomenon seems to believe that we live in a perfect environment where people are constantly idle to be staring at other people.

Bibliography

Baker, Robert A. "Can We Tell When Someone is Staring at Us? A common belief is that people can tell when someone is staring at them, and some parapsychologists contend this is a form of distant mental influence." Skeptical Inquirer 24, no. 2 (2000): 34-40.

Marks, David F., and John Colwell. "The psychic staring effect." Skeptical Inquirer 24, no. 5 (2000): 41-49.

Sheldrake, Rupert. The sense of being stared at: And other unexplained powers of human minds. Simon and Schuster, 2013.