Eyes on it
Somehow I feel watched. The pot in our office coffee kitchen now has eyes. To be more precise, since this morning. Glued to the lid, this unwinking counterpart stares at me blankly. No, rather warning. Or reproachful? In any case, so impressive that I unscrew the pot to be sure that there is actually enough for the next cup. Because otherwise I would of course put on fresh coffee. You don't want to be antisocial.
The idea of the eyes came from Newcastle upon Tyne. Maybe Gilbert Roberts stood there too often in front of empty coffee pots. Or colleague Melissa Bateson often found her cup on someone else's desk. It's possible that Daniel Nettle was the cashier of the coffee register and he lost his head. In any case, they adorned the general notice in the coffee kitchen, which fee is to be paid for coffee, tea and milk, with a pair of serious looking eyes. And suddenly they collected three times as much - as well as enough data for a preliminary analysis.
Did the glued-on eye areas draw more attention to the note? Hardly: It hung on a cupboard door right in front of the users of the coffee kitchen, unmissable. And if that were the explanation, the flower pile that the researchers used as an alternative should also have increased the income - but none.
No, according to the authors, it is the feeling of being watched that grabs the social conscience of those who are actually unobserved in the kitchen. After all, there are specialized nerve cells in the brain that react to faces of all kinds - perhaps they trigger an unconscious reaction.
In addition to full coffee coffers, this would have other consequences: does this feeling of being watched possibly also lead volunteers in anonymous psychologist experiments to unexpected cooperative behavior? This shed a whole new light on some of the findings on altruism in human society.
By the way, I found more eyes earlier. On the dishwasher. And on the paper tray of the printer. A pair was also taped to the coffee tin and one was painted on the filter paper packet. Does it help? Let us surprise. In any case, the pot from which I was about to pour my sip after lunch was empty. Look me in the eye, kid - who was it? He doesn't even bat an eyelid.
