Keeping an Eye on What We Really Think

Keeping an Eye on What We Really Think

By Mr Ghaz, January 1, 2010

Keeping an Eye on What We Really Think

Offer a doorman a thick roll of $100 bills for just holding open a door, and his eyes will probably open wide with pleasure and surprise. In fact, they will open in two quite distinct ways. Not only will his eyelids widen, but his pupils, which control the amount of light entering the eye, will dilate as well. And they will do so even if the man shows no other emotion.

By observing the way the pupil behaves, psychologists learn much about our true reactions to events-no matter what we say we feel and however we try to disguise our feelings.

Just as the pupil dilates in pleasure, it shrinks when confronting something distasteful or frightening-a picture of a poisonous snake, for example. But watching the pupil at work can reveal even more subtle information; it seems that the pupil is a window on the way our minds work.

Nervous Reaction

The pupil offers a valid indication of the state of the nervous system as a whole. Psychologists have noted that when students are given a math problem to solve, their pupils dilate, and remain dilated, until they have solved the problem and announced the answer. At the same time, their hearts beat faster and they display other signs of nervousness.

Taste or smell can also affect the behavior of the eye’s pupil. A group of people were given soft drinks to taste during some market research. The degree to which their pupils dilated or constricted indicated-much more than their oral descriptions-how well each liked the different flavors.

Because humans have no control over the way the pupils behave, they are a kind of lie detector. In one test, scientists found that the pupils of the eyes of women who claimed to be unaffected by photographs of male models gave them away. Their pupils dilated when the women actually looked at the picture.

In another test, people were asked to look at a set of modern abstract paintings. Curiously, a number of those who claimed to enjoy modern art showed a negative reaction; many of the pictures triggered signs of rejection when the subjects’ pupils contracted in dislike.

Magic, Motherhood, and Marketing

Observing how the pupils of the eye behave has a number of applications. Some magicians may not be particularly skilled with a pack of cards but can tell when a hidden card turns up: the pupils of the person who but it in the pack dilate in recognition.

Other uses are more practical. Psychologists are employing the technique when exploring young people’s attitudes toward their parents and the point at which an interest in the opposite sex emerges. Perhaps the broadest application is in testing reactions to new products, packaging, and advertising. When a new item appears on the supermarket shelves, it may be available because it made someone’s eyes light up.