Windows to the Soul

The Eyes            by Alex Hutchins

The eyes really are a window to the soul, according to scientists.  Patterns in the iris can give an indication of whether we are warm and trusting or neurotic and impulsive, research has found.

Their findings showed those with densely packed crypts are more warmhearted, tender, trusting, and likely to sympathize with others. In comparison, those with more contraction furrows were more neurotic, impulsive and likely to give way to cravings.

The researchers argued that eye structure and personality could be linked because the genes responsible for the development of the iris also play a role in shaping part of the frontal lobe of the brain, which influences personality. They say the findings could one day be used in psychoanalysis and by companies screening candidates for jobs.

The idea that personality differences are related to iris characteristics is not new. In 1965, Cattell observed differences in cognitive styles between blue and brown eyed subjects (Cattell, 1965) and since then eye color has been found to be related to a great variety of physiological and behavioral characteristics. Dark eyed people have on average higher scores on extraversion, neuroticism (Gentry et al., 1985), ease of emotional arousal (Markle, 1976) and sociability (Gary and Glover, 1976).

However, there are a number of studies that fail to replicate the personality findings, typically because the effect tends to fade after early childhood. For instance, Rubin and Both (1989) found that blue-eyed children in kindergarten and Grade 2 were overrepresented in groups of extremely withdrawn youngsters, whereas no association could be found in Grade 4 or between eye color and extreme sociability in any grade.

Vic Adamus

While we cannot see the eyes close-up of my former blog partner, we should be able to still notice with what little that we can see, that this gentle man, opened his soul to everyone with a contagious smile that relaxed everyone in his presence, allowing us to see the simplicity of what he saw everyday . . .

Are the eyes really a window to the soul?

A recent student conducted at Yale University suggests that most people believe this to be true.

Researchers conducted three experiments that involved show participants images of cartoon characters with a small object drawn next to them.  When asked to indicate which image showed the object closest to the character, most people selected the image showing the object closest to the eyes…  that point at the soul is most frequently thought to be located.

“The indirect nature of our method,” the researchers admitted, “suggests that these judgments are shared by both adults and preschoolers, strongly indicating that our results do not reflect a culturally learned understanding, but might instead be rooted in a more intuitive or phenomenological sense of where in our bodies, we reside.”

I will miss looking into the soul of my closest and dearest friend.