Looking into someone's eyes for as long as 10 seconds is often associated to physical and emotional attraction.
Huffington Post reports a new study explains what happens to people when they stare into someone's eyes for 10 minutes.
According to an Italian study, looking straight into the eyes of someone for a long period of time may lead to dissociation - a feeling of detachment from one's body and hallucination.
During the study, 20 young people were paired to stare blankly into each other's eyes for 10 minutes inside a dimly-lit room - where facial features are enhanced. Another 20 respondents were also asked to participate by staring blankly at a wall for the same amount of time.
After the staring exercise, participants were then asked to answer a questionnaire about the whole experience. According to their reports, staring blankly into someone's eyes for quite a long time makes them feel a certain form of dissociation such as losing connection to reality, a feeling of time slowing down, and visual distortion such as changes in colors and shapes. In fact, 90% of the participants experienced hallucinations during the interpersonal staring activity.
According to those who stared at walls, they have experienced some forms of dissociation but weren't able to experience hallucination.
This study is an addition to previous theories saying staring into an object for a long period of time snaps people's brains out of reality. Lead author of the recent study, Dr. Giovanni Caputo, may not have explained the science behind the hallucinations, but thinks this has something to do with sensory deprivation.
As stated in the study's press release, hallucinations occur when "the brain snaps back to reality after zoning out and the mind projects subconscious thoughts onto the face of the other person."
This study will be published in the journal Psychiatry Research next week.
