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Feast your eyes on the iris.
Sure, being blessed with a choice eye color is cool. But new research reveals that the eye’s pupil size and iris brightness are the real moneymakers.
“Brighter irises and larger pupils elicited greater donations,” noted experts from the Netherlands’ Leiden University in a recent report on how our eyes influence others’ perceptions of us — as well as their willingness to fork over charitable funds.
The team conducted two experimental studies, for which they tasked participants with rating photos of non-human primates — fur balls within the monkey family — with altered eyes.
In the inaugural study, 64 participants were shown portraits of 32 different species, including chimpanzees, bonobos and pig-tailed macaques, whose pupil size had been manipulated to appear constricted or dilated while maintaining their iris brightness.
“We ask participants how much money they would donate to each portrait, and to rate them in terms of how cute, friendly and attractive they appear,” wrote investigators. They noted that donations “increased for portraits with dilated pupils only in species with bright irises.”
Subjects also perceived animals with bigger pupils as cuter, friendlier and more attractive than critters lacking the look-at-me trait.
For their second probe, analysts manipulated both the pupil’s size and iris brightness.
“Participants donated substantially more when exposed to portraits showing primates with bright, rather than dark, irises,” the pros determined. “Donations were also greater when pupils were depicted to be dilated rather than constricted.”
Folks involved in the study rated primates with brighter irises as cuter if they had dilated pupils, and less cute if their pupils were constricted.
Respondents also perceived primates with brighter irises as friendlier if they had dilated pupils, and less friendly if their pupils were constricted. Participants also dubbed primates with brighter irises as more attractive only if they had dilated pupils.
The data echoes previous findings via research led by Zachary Estes from the University of London. In a July study, Estes confirmed that “people appear more attractive when their irises are bigger, showing more brightness in their eyes.”
Iris-brightening cosmetic procedures, known as keratopigmentation, are even buzzing among wannabe cuties with desires to be the apple of someone’s eye.
Leiden University insiders seem to back the belief that beauty — not to mention financial generosity — is truly in the eye of the beholder.
“Our results demonstrate that small changes in perceived eye morphology impact behavior and affective responses,” said clinicians.
“Donation behavior and affective responses are importantly affected when we manipulate the perceived iris brightness and pupil size of our portraits,” they added.
“Perceived cuteness and friendliness were greatest in portraits with bright irises and large pupils.”
