People do not behave in the same way when they are alone or when they are surrounded by other people. This effect can also occur if the person feels observed by a camera . In such a case, the proliferation of facial recognition systems in cities could have a significant effect on human behavior.
According to a study carried out by Ayelet Fishbach and Janina Steinmetz , from the Universities of Chicago and London, respectively, the greater the observation of the person, they found that not only did the behavior change, but also the actions or responses that were issued. .
The facts are magnified
As the authors explain: “We found that participants who were observed while eating or knew they were observed after eating recalled eating a larger portion than participants not observed.”
In another test, the group of people who felt monitored thought they had given more incorrect answers to a series of questions than the people who did not feel observed, although the results showed that there was no difference between the groups of volunteers .
The same happened when badminton players were surveyed after playing team tournaments. Those players who were part of the teams that lost thought that they were more personally responsible for the loss and that this feeling increased as the number of spectators watched them play. Again, any mistakes in his game became more important, magnified, when a player felt observed when he was part of a losing team. In other words, being watched changed the way people thought about their behavior .
Taken together, these studies show that being watched fundamentally alters the subjective magnitude of one’s actions. By adopting the observer’s perspective in addition to their own perspective, people perceive themselves as being under a magnifying glass. As a result, people’s observed actions feel magnified.
The researchers point out that no conclusion can yet be reached in this regard, as they do not know the meaning of this “magnifying glass effect” for people’s thoughts and feelings in the long term. However, they theorize that, when observed by the thousands of cameras that face recognition (to the point that each behavior could be individually monitored), this could significantly influence the confidence and self-esteem of citizens .
Feeling that one’s mistakes and lapses become more important and more relevant could damage confidence and self-esteem so that, for example, a small sin may seem more serious under constant observation : someone who enjoys leaving home in their pajamas to shop Some junk food might feel shame and disgust when observed or felt observed during such socially objectionable behavior.
And that remains serious even if those images are guaranteed privacy or even erased – the effects on people’s thoughts and feelings can persist, even long after the tape has been erased from the camera.
