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the claim
Images of eyes promote prosocial behavior
the verdict
CONTESTED
the evidence cuts both ways
confidence 30/100

While early studies suggested that images of eyes promote prosocial behavior by triggering a sense of being watched, recent replications and broader reviews have yielded mixed findings, leading the scientific community to contest the robustness and generalizability of the effect.

Evidence for · 3
Do ‘watching eyes’ influence antisocial behavior? A systematic review & meta-analysis
2019 · cited by 103
A meta-analysis of 15 experiments indicates that watching eyes reduce antisocial behavior.
Evidence against · 3
A positive effect of flowers rather than eye images in a large-scale, cross-cultural dictator game
2012 · cited by 84
A large-scale cross-cultural dictator game found that flower images rather than eye images promoted cooperation.
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More for · 2
I want to help you, but I am not sure why: gaze-cuing induces altruistic giving.
2014 · cited by 19
Implicit learning about reliable gaze cues can prompt altruistic giving in economic games.
Reputation Reminders: When do Eye Cues Promote Prosocial Behavior?
2023 · cited by 7
Reviews indicate that the watching eyes effect can promote prosocial behavior under specific conditions such as reduced anonymity and low costs.
More against · 2
The norm-dependent effect of watching eyes on donation
2017 · cited by 28
A replication study failed to find that watching eyes promoted generosity regardless of existing social norms.
No effect of 'watching eyes': An attempted replication and extension investigating individual differences.
2021 · cited by 13
A pre-registered study failed to replicate the watching eyes effect and observation effect in a dictator game.
The paper trail · every fact has a biography
first checked01 Aug 2026
judged → CONTESTED · 3001 Aug 2026
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