Question(s) about human behaviour

I've noticed that the vast majority of people (in my experience) when walking into a room or through an area (ie. in school or work) are almost tunnel visioned on what lies directly ahead of them... like just getting from point A to point B... so if they were walking down a road they would just be looking straight down the road, not paying attention to the background or ever looking side to side. I've noticed in my experience that only a few people will look at the people around them. I would like to know what everyone's hypothesis is on: why so many people don't (or why more people don't) pay more attention to their surroundings... like when they enter a room... look at all the objects or people in it (more than a super quick automatic glance or peripheral vision), when studying in a study area, why don't they look at the people around them more frequently? When someone or something new (that's not being obnoxious) enters their area/room.. why not look at it? Why not pay more attention to the changing scenery (outside of nature trips lol) when in populated environments?

It almost seems like these people are self-absorbed and primarily focussed on themselves/what they're doing/what they need to do/their path/their thoughts. This may sound harsh, but I'm not judging them... I don't know what's going on in their life or how they developed or anything, I'm just coming from a place of curiosity because I've noticed sooo many people do this, regardless of their personality (ie. narcissistic vs. altruistic). Although I have noticed that the more altruistic people are the more attentive they seem to be to the people around them, so I guess that sort of contradicts my example lol. I've also noticed that the frequency of this behavior seems to almost be inverted when it comes to driving, with the majority of people constantly looking into other cars and people along the sidewalk (especially during traffic).

Below is some background information for purposes of comparison/contrast and context. I know that the following is outside the norm and likely stems from my own things such as ADD/ADHD and my childhood epilepsy's impact on by brain or whatever.

Whenever I'm studying or going about my day in general I seem to be very reactive to my surroundings when something new is introduced. For example: if someone enters the room (ie. auditory stimulus) or my field of vision (visual stimulus), or I enter a new room filled with people or objects... I scan the room/people/objects (usually repeatedly) and if anything catches my attention/curiosity or provides further stimuli than I obviously end up paying more attention to it. Sometimes this can be for a couple of seconds or even lead to me zoning out for up to 30 seconds... even to the point where I'm not even paying attention to the room/person/object anymore and more-so just in a sedated trance (but still aware of stimuli around me, it's just like I'm too sedated to respond to it right away).

Hello flawed_design: The Skeezyks does not really have a hypothesis with regard to what you've observed. While I do enjoy looking around at nature (to the extent there is any in the middle of the city) I do whatever I can to avoid catching the gaze of others I encounter. I live a pretty-much thoroughly solitary lifestyle. And this is part of it. Most people I see have their heads buried in their phones anyway.

I see this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral… from the Skeezyks! I hope you find the time you spend here to be of benefit.

PsychCentral is a great place to get information as well as support for mental health issues. There are many knowledgeable & caring members here. The more you post, & reply to other members’ posts, the more a part of the community you will become. Plus there are social groups you can join & chat rooms where you’ll be able to connect with other PC members in real time (once your first 5 posts have been reviewed & approved.) Lots of great stuff! So please keep posting!

Skeezyks you are funny-do you know it or am i judging wrong.i like your sense of humor.i sometimes wish for attention when i am dressed up and feel like i look nice to myself and it feels great to get a compliment after putting on a new outfit and face makeup.

This is a result of an over crowed world and cultural conditioning, combined with fear.

I tried imagine doing all those things you're asking why we don't do, and it seems really mentally taxing and impractically time-consuming. And in the case of looking at other people, potentially confusing and slightly rude. You excluded peripheral vision and quick glances, so it seems you mean pausing to look directly at something for longer than a glance. What would be the advantage of acting like that?

I think people in these situations are using a lot of mental shortcuts that are not specific to humans. If I've seen something in the past, and it continues to look the same next time I see it in my peripheral vision, and I'm not expecting it to change, I'm going to figure hasn't changed.

For stuff like driving, looking around frequently is very important to the task of driving. (Peripheral vision and brief glances are still used a lot, out of necessity.) The situation, with other cars and such, is constantly changing in a way that's relevant to the task. Likewise for stuff like nature hikes, ogling the scenery is a good part of the appeal. On the other hand, if you're in the library reading a book, looking around frequently is not helpful. Even if they notice a new stimulus, if it's not something they're interested in, they won't turn to look at it.

Having awareness of something and having your eyes pointed at something aren't the same thing. To use an extreme example, imagine you had to continually look at the ground near your feet in order to walk! You probably don't need to do that because the awareness you already have of the ground is adequate for the task of walking. I don't think animals would be able to function in the wild if they didn't have this ability. It would be hard to find food, predators would catch them easily, etc. So I'm guessing this is the result of natural selection.

I've noticed that I can have my eyes point at something and not be aware of it. It's worse when I'm not taking meds for ADHD, but even when treated, it can occasionally be problematic. I've had to forbid anyone in my car from talking while I'm driving, because their speech seems to use up too much of my brain power (even if I'm not trying to listen to them!) so even if I'm looking around as normal, I'll do stuff like run red lights.

To put it another way... you said you scan rooms/people/objects and then pay more attention to things that catch your attention or curiosity... but what about all the other things that don't catch your attention or curiosity? When you see other people not looking at various stimuli around them, I think those stimuli are things that haven't caught the attention/curiosity of those people. They still notice the other stimuli (usually), but they are more interested in the activity they're already doing.

This is an easy one. The media has brainwashed society into thinking that we all have to partake in this rat race in order to win, or more realistically survive. What they're not telling us is that this is race is for the treasure under the rainbow.. We'll burn ourselves out before we can reach something that doesn't exit in the first place.
Governments created schools, universities etc so they can push people into subjects they're not guaranteed to enjoy or finish with a debt that appeared to be a favour that was obviously contributed to their money making schemes.
Half the problem is also parents these days. Back in the old generation it was the most educated thing to do to get a college degree and become employed by a great company. But in this generation with the crap economy we learnt nothing about money, investing, business, entrepreneurship. There doesn't seem to be any innovation within education and it's a fact that it's one of the biggest scales of income the government receives.

I'm a year 10 drop out and my teachers and idiots in my class just frowned upon me. I always laughed because I always knew that when I walk down town city in Melbourne, I see all the sheep following the heard, and I observe around and think of the matrix right away.. it's a good feeling.. it just means when the times right you've opened your mind up to something else. If you follow the heard you'll get caught up in the havoc of "omg I need a house, a bigger house, a car, a better car", until you're close to a mid life crisis and don't enough courage to live the life you wished you did when you were young. So why is the highest divorce rates in western countries?

Because no westernised countries don't mass media brain wash them. They use it so after a whole **** long day at work you go and zone out watching tv or what not and it hypnotises us. Our minds get lost in the TVs world where we feel content. Content to watch next episode and the next until something else comes out

Not to mention to news and politics. It's all a load of ****. They run the media so they obviously show us what they want us to hear.. if news is important enough, it'll find us

There are some excellent posts on this thread. I'll add that I believe many (most?) people are self-conscious (social anxiety), so avoid making eye contact with others they pass. Truthfully, I've found that if I smile really warmly at someone or initiate conversation almost everyone will open up right away. We're a society of very, very self-conscious people.

For me it's social anxiety, and the fear of accidentally looking at someone the wrong way or for too long and offending them somehow. It could be due to social norms and not wanting to cross invisible "boundaries" regarding strangers in public places. However it's so automatic and I don't feel like I can help it. It actually bothers me that I do this, but I've always been this way. You're lucky that you don't.

I've found that the answers we find ourselves are the most satisfying. Doesn't mean we can't enjoy some help along the way though and so, if you'll forgive the dreaded question being answered by another question, I'll give it a shot. You said, "I'm not judging them... I don't know what's going on in their life or how they developed or anything, I'm just coming from a place of curiosity..."

So, out of curiousity, what would have to be going on in your life, or how you would have to have had developed, to do the same thing? You are more engaged with the world when you...? You are less engaged in the world when you...?