This is not scientific. It's a perception.
Like taking a shot of a person using a wide angle lens versus a 100mm lens. The images have different perceptions.
Fred
It's perspective. Actually, this is an old photo school teaching. Back then it was done with 4x5, so much easier to learn. IF you take the same subject and shoot it to the same size with different focal lengths, the apparent perspective will change. It's just all about light physics with the different concave, convex, plano-convex, etc. lenses. I'd ask you to go stand nose-to-nose wih your wife and stare at it but she might think you've been drinking
. It's harder to do since our brain compensates too much, but can be done.
The old PJ days were a 24 or 28mm, 85mm (portrait), 105 (basketball), 180 and 300 (football, baseball, police actions, etc.) Only a few could afford a 21mm. The 50mm stayed in the bag EXCEPT for boxing.
There is a flip side to the perspective thing. If you shoot a given subject to the same size at the same aperture (assuming an accurate lens) the Depth of Field will be identical.
An aside to all this. Watch closely at breaking news where all the TV guys are jamming in (we call it a media circus). You can see the distortion. The TV guys get in close because they go to wide angle. Those C lenses have incredible DOF so they don't have to focus!! AND they want their guy to jam the Mr. Microphone in the guy's lips. That's why you see the still guys cramming in and trying to shoot Hail Mary's.
In a controlled situaton where we know each other we usually agree to ALL stay back.
There is a really strange anomaly in the business. The best video guys were still shooters--they don't zoom. They shoot a bunch pieces and put a story together. Likewise, some of the best still guys came from film/video. They get the horizon lines straight.