Watching-Eye Effect

The watching-eye effect describes how people behave more altruistically and show less antisocial behavior in the presence of images depicting eyes, because such images suggest that the person is being watched. Eyes are a strong perceptual signal for humans that one's actions are being seen and attended to, and the effect is pronounced enough that even a simple depiction of eyes, with no one actually watching, is enough to trigger feelings of being observed and to nudge behavior toward being more honest and prosocial; empirical research has repeatedly shown that the visible presence of eye images produces a small but measurable shift in this direction. The effect is part of the psychology of surveillance and has been applied to reducing crime without increasing real surveillance, since simply posting a sign depicting eyes can lead people to believe they are being watched and behave more in line with social norms as a result.