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Carlo Allegri / Reuters file
Brown-eyed faces, like Hugh Jackman's, are perceived as more trustworthy, a new study has found.
Gazing into people’s eyes can offer insight into whether they can be trusted, and according to new research, this perception may have something to do with eye color.
A study published in the journal PLOS ONE found that brown-eyed people are believed to be more trustworthy than blue-eyed people.
Does that mean that you can trust well-known brown-eyed girls (and boys) like Hugh Jackman and Sandra Bullock more than Jude Law and Reese Witherspoon?
Not exactly, since eye color doesn’t paint the whole picture of what trustworthiness looks like.
“It is not eye color, but face shape associated with eye color that causes the higher perception of trustworthiness,” wrote lead study author Karel Kleisner of Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic, in an email to NBCNews.com. “
Kleisner and his colleagues asked more than 200 students to rate how much they could trust a series of 80 male and female faces with either brown or blue eyes.
Subjects rated the brown-eyed faces as being more trustworthy, but that wasn’t the end of the story.
To demonstrate that eye color isn’t the final answer when it comes to trustworthiness, the researchers then asked a second group of students to rate the same faces, but with the eye colors digitally switched.
Torsten Laursen / Getty Images file
Sorry, Jude Law, but there's just something about those baby blues we don't entirely trust.
The faces rated the most trustworthy by the first group received similar ratings from the second group, even though the eyes were now different colors. The authors surmised that some other characteristic must play a role.
In general, faces judged as more trustworthy are narrower, have bigger eyes, and broader mouths with upward-oriented lips. Kleisner explained that these are characteristics associated with brown eyes.
On the other hand, blue eyes tend to be smaller, meaning many blue-eyed faces are pointier and longer with eyebrows that are far apart.
Favoring those big, brown, puppy-dog eyes may have some social implications, Kleisner explained.
“This may further lead to social stereotypes that affect a broad range of social situations from mate choice and business partner selection to political marketing and democratic processes,” he wrote.
But despite being viewed as less trustworthy, blue-eyed individuals may have something working in their favor – at least in Northern Europe.
Blue eyes, the authors explained, are very common throughout that part of the world, most likely because they are considered more attractive. The preference for blue eyes, they added, makes up for the perceived lack of trustworthiness.
Kleisner added that the research needs to be replicated using different photos and different subjects, and he cautioned against over-interpreting the significance of the findings.
So don't look too deeply into those puppy dog eyes just yet.
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Leave a Comment:
"We did a study that showed 'x' and then altered it which disproved 'x' and showed 'y' but go ahead and report 'x' anyway."
Exactly! Very poor reporting and even worse analysis.
Huh? The article was pretty clear. Blue eyes are an identifiable marker for faces which are less trustworthy.
The article was pretty clear but did you read the article? When they changed the color of the eyes, the same faces were picked as untrustworthy. Ergo, the shape of the face is what makes somebody appear untrustworthy not the color of the eyes.
It seems ironic that Kaididstore's silly illiterate comment was "removed by author" and Larry, and AB-1981's racist remarks were left up. This and the article give very little credibility to the "author".
Larry's racist comments will be watched in the future, prankster or not Larry should be banned from this vine.
The article is vague and offers little scientific value, nor psychological value. The author makes generalizations based on limited information.
Another example of poor(and/or biased) journalism on msnbc.
I've always thought that people with dark eyes just look so cold, vacant, and kind of creepy. You know, the really dark brown that almost looks black, where you can't even hardly distinguish the pupil. Makes them look emotionless or something, kind of. I much prefer green eyes or blue eyes or even light brown. Anything but that really dark look.
Each to his own. When a person is receptive, interpreted as warm, friendly or trusted, the pupil gets wider and therefore there is more black, regardless of eye color. Not being able to distinguish the pupil makes the average person interpret these positive traits.
Besides, brown eyes remind me of chocolate, and the dark eyes of dark chocolate.
(Can you trust these green eyes: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.globalgrind.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery_image/images/2012_july/ayg9shiceaeotqr_1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://globalgrind.com/news/aurora-shooter-james-holmes-picture-information-12-people-dead-the-dark-knight-movie-38-wounded-photos&h=675&w=540&sz=48&tbnid=w5_D-X4CrAjTbM:&tbnh=186&tbnw=148&zoom=1&usg=__fecFohVW5qAseUpBEmHyEHIsnrM=&docid=8ieMFUaTcRBIsM&sa=X&ei=9uXuUM-WGMTe2QWdkIDQDA&ved=0CDEQ9QEwAA&dur=1872)
You think this way because you don't have dark eyes.
And you must have brown eyes Larry. Do you think the comment section should be closed for this topic?
I've found grey and blue eyes to be rather scary, especially when "steely eyes" are going on. Because the pupil shrinks when the view sees something that he or she doesn't like, it's rather easy to know when a person who has blue eyes really, really doesn't like you.
Hell yeah Elk. I have baby blues, AND IM COMMENTING FROM INSIDE YOUR HOUSE!!!
Where did you get that nonsense? Pupils vary in size to adjust to light, which is constantly occurring. If you think you can see someones eyes change in size the miniscule amount that MIGHT happen due to emotional state, and remember people's head and eyes are constantly moving, then you are deluding yourself. There is no way you would know that it wasn't due to a slight variance in brightness of what they are focusing on.
Is there any evidence that eye color correlates to anything else of any significance whatsoever?
Ability to shoot a rifle with greater accuracy?
Oh, criminy. I came over here because I was so fed up with the gun argument crap that is going on on every other Newsvine, and you have to drag it over here.
Actually, yes, there is at least one thing that eye color correlates rather strongly with:
Drug uptake rate.
People with lighter eyes (blue, gray, etc.) tend to absorb drugs into their bloodstream more slowly than people with brown/darker eyes. Ever gone under general anesthesia? Did you notice that the doctor administering the dosage looked closely at your eyes for a second? That's why. Oh, and alcohol is a drug, too, so they don't get hit as quickly by what they're drinking - meaning you might want to think twice about going shot-for-shot with that blue-eyed Swede at the bar.
Yeah,
Could you link a source to this information? I'm curious to read it. I know doctors look at the eyes to determine if they have dialated, which is one sign of drugs or alcohol being in effect, but I have never heard of eyecolor determining how fast a drug is absorbed by the body. Everyone's chemestry is different so I would think that would determine how quickly things are absorbed, not the eyecolor. And bodyweight plays a factor as well with how quickly alcohol is absorbed, not eyecolor. That's why you get the charts of alochol blood levels with your car registration from the DMV.
http://www(dot)ncbi(dot)nlm(dot)nih(dot)gov/pubmed/3209800 (replace the dots with .)
This was just one experiment, studying uptake of atropine specifically, that I found with a quick google search - there are a number of others out there if you look deeper.
I'm not saying that there aren't other factors affecting uptake rate - body weight, age, and any bodily disorders are obviously also very important. But eye color is indicative of certain things about your body chemistry, which also tend to affect your response to drugs. The correlation is strong.
Thanks Yeah. You learn something new every day =)
People with green eyes -- skunked again. Always everybody's with the blue eyes and the brown eyes. What about us green-eyed types? It's all Mendel's fault...;-)
Yeahbuh- very interesting. I have blue eyes, and have often had trouble getting numbed properly when getting Novacaine. My sons have brown eyes, and have both been under general anesthesia, and both woke up quicker than expected afterwards.
Hugh's eyes look hazel or green to me, not brown. Heck, there are songs on You Tube about Hugh Jackman's Green Eyes.
@Yeahbuddah - what a RIP! Takes more to get wasted, drugs dont have as big of an effect. Lame.
Trust me....
Hmm...
My weasel boss has brown eyes. Will sell you out in an instant and take credit for your work if it makes him look good to his boss. Has stopped just short of doing illegal things on the job, but has no concept of ethics.
I have co-workers with blue eyes that I trust to do the right thing.
This article seems without value to me. Maybe do one about arching of the eyebrows or twirled mustache? Those are easy villains to spot, completely worthy of NBCNEWS competency in reporting, or rather, the lack of it.
You are prejudiced because you have blue eyes.
...actually he was referencing other people. Jeez
I just commented on your other posts Larry. I cannot believe that you have the nerves to call other people prejudice. Absolutely unbelievable!
Call me crazy, but I note trustworthy people based on if they lie or don't lie.
Good point.
Whatever. The point is to estimate trust when you don't know whether they're lying.
I have green eyes but I've always thought brown eyes are warm and gentle. Blue eyes are nice too but I've never cared for ice blue eyes, which I've always found kind of creepy.
Hehe, that would be my eye color. :P
I have blue eyes and i kind of agree. Especially when they have VERY pale blue eyes. Old black and white pictures of people with blue eyes are very creepy because the eye looks like all white or whatever.
Just love how MSNBC spreads this kind of racism.
How is "Whitey is less trustworthy" racism? I thought it was racism only if it went the other way.
LMAO!
Why are you crying racism? After all, plenty of white people have brown eyes.
Actually racism doesn't even play into this article as white people are not the only ones who can have blue and green eyes. Other races have had these eye colors when genetics comes into play. I've known and seen blacks, hispanics, japanese and chinese with the blue and green coloring. And it isn't due to contacts.
Yesh, I am not seeing racism here. Even though my sister has ice blue eyes.
1. There is no direction for racism. That's why there is no such thing as "reverse racism". It's just racism.
2. The article states that blue eyes are popular in Northern Europe because it was seen as attractive. Almost every article on blue eyes states this despite little evidence for this claim. This claim does not get repeated on articles about red hair or freckles or pointy noses. This claim has a long historical history of scientific racism where blonde hair and blue eyes were seen as ideal features. It could be the fact that humans simply saw blue eyes as a nice variation much like any other variation out there.
In all fairness, as whitey, I can tell you whitey is less trustworthy. Now get back to work.
Race isn't just about the color of skin.
Media portraits people a certain way at any given time and it sways the way we perceive others. 10 years ago blonde/ blue eyes were in, now it's brunettes/brown eyes. If you are watching a Disney cartoon, overweight people with moles are evil and young beautiful people are good. The movies ran out of Germans to portrait as evil so now it mideasterns and so it goes. Pale kids with light blue eyes must see ghosts..... We are all being brainwashed and don't realize it.
Black is always in. Sorry white people.
black taint in - although, they seem to be doing a pretty good number on themselves here on the So. Side
over 500 homicides in 2012
I have the over in LV this year - +620 (pays me 9/1)
And there it is...Larry, you brown eyed racist b*stard.
I remember freaking out when I saw Disney's Belle had brown eyes and hair. I didn't know that they even had brown in the color palette.
There are many offenders but Disney is the worst IMHO. You may see stong women in the shows now but they all have low cut shirts and are young "beautiful". Women who are average, are portraited as evil. Show a few of these to kids then quiz them on eye color and beauty. I rest my case.
And how many nondead moms are there in Disney cartoons?
Not just Disney for the non existant mom others are following the widowed dad who has trouble relating to son theme, getting old. I did like Cars (the original not the sequal) but they have brainwashing kids down to a science.
@LarryNC - Black IS always in... JAIL. OH SNAP!
Finally, an article I can say that has absolutely no redeeming value. Reminds me of the old adage: Do you know the difference between blue eyes and brown? The blue eyed person is only full of crap up to their nose......
actually , I think that Hugh Jackman's eyes are hazel, not brown.
I think Hugh Jackman's eyes look hazel as well. Which leads to another issue over judging eye color and makes the entire article questionable, and that issue is lighting. Blue eyes can look grey in dark light or on cloudy days, but look sky blue or steel blue in bright lighting. Hazel eyes can look brown in dark lighting. Green eyes can look steel green or dark green depending on the lighting. There are many different eye colors, not just blue and brown:
blue
grey (which may actually be blue, depending on the lighting)
green
greenish yellow (rare, cat-like eyes that occasionally occur in humans)
hazel
brown
black or extremely dark brown (Iris and pupil are indistinguishable or barely so.)
There may be other, rare eye colors that occasionally occur in humans.
I have a relative whose eyes are golden. She has red hair. Real red hair. Real golden eyes. I think the golden is just a very, very pale brown, but it's extremely striking.
Mine are greenish yellow. Actually they run the gambit between olive drab and golden. Not a hint of brown or hazel at all.
Are you people for real?This is NEWS WORTHY? What time frame is BSNBC going back to? The 19th century?
Brown eyes verses Blue eyes what the HELL is the difference?There's no real credible scientific evidence,and if somebody on here tells me there is I'll sell you a salt mine and tell you there's gold at the bottom of it.Because you'd be just that stupid to believe me!How far down the rat hole have we gone to even bring this up for discussion?
Blue eyes brown eyes green eyes red eyes,no difference! Well maybe red eyes,because you're either high drunk or sick,but as for the rest of the color of eyes,forget it. Again no credibility.
The only real discussion here is what makes people have these color eyes,and that's either if your either born with x or y chromosomes.
As for the rest of who you can trust and not trust,or what it makes them who they are,it's nothing more than a bunch of Bogus Bull Crap.This was contrived out a 19th and early 20 century myth,and as far as believing this Bull Crap,I'd have to say your Ignorance and Gullibility is showing!
Like I said if you believe that eye color determines a person personality etc,do yourselves a favor and join the real world!I'll repeat one more time, this article and that myth Don't Fly!
There is a difference if you're playing poker. Pupils dilate is the hand is good, shrink if not, and both are easier to notice if the iris is light blue.
Blue eyed Devil.
Whites primarily with blue eyes are said to be the most evil.
Especially since their skin is so pale, it looks scary to others as their blue eyes stare out at them.
I have heard the exact opposite
especially when dealing with the gypsy varieties
A bit racist are you not?
Who sounds evil Larry? Take a look at yourself. You are despicable.
Larry is one of two things! He's either Ignorant as they come,or Larry is just trying to ring your chimes and get a rise out you by stirring you up, and getting a laugh out of it.
I vote the latter!
Take Larry with the minutest grain of salt!
I just read some of his other comments from other articles. He is in the Black Klan or something so I think it was your first guess. Thanks for the advice though. :)
Larry- said by whom? the new black panther party. That is as racist statement as I have ever seen on this web site- ever.
So it is official, my brown eyes don't mean I am full of S**T!!
Good One!
I have learned through many examples to never trust a woman with blue eyes.
Not sure why this is, but I've stuck to it now for a long time and it definitely works for me.
Perhaps blue-eyed women easily outwitted you every time. And you've learned to stay away lest you be upstaged yet again, and suffer more bruising to your male ego.
I wonder what blue-eyed women have to say about you.
And if you're a single dad, I guess the brown-eyed women didn't work out too well either!
Is it just me or does everyone else think this research was a waste of time? It has nothing to do with eye color. You have factors of facial control and body language that gives off whether someone may be deemed trustworthy. Eyecolor alone doesn't do that. And as others have stated, this was horrible reporting.
Couldn't agree with you more.Read post # 12
I think this could be true, because everyone in "Breaking Bad" seems to have blue or bluish green eyes...
Y'know?... Or this article is silly.
What a racist article. If you printed the same thing in regards to intelligence I can bet you would have a lawsuit for discrimination if for example you tied it to skin color. Trust is indignent to how well a person is raised--e.g, societal factors more than anything else.
That happened and then that happened. Saw it on "Through the Wormhole". The woman who reported the finding was dubbed a racist and her public standings in her field was forever tarnished. This article is racist and it gives racists, like Larry, a podium.
I have a green eye.
You can trust me.
This article is hilarious.
I know that it sounds ridiculous but for some reason I always felt that. But what I believe it really means is that the color of brown is less bright and therefore is less intrusive and seems more of a calm color.
Either way....The person who wrote this article really needs to get a life.
Maybe the next article should be something like.."People who smile are more happy than people who don't".
They have actually done that article already lol
Another worthless study thet proves nothing
That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard! Leave it to MSLSD to waste time reporting on something so ludicrous. No wonder your news outlet is a laughingstock. Ever heard of the old saying "blue eyes are true eyes"? Just asking....
A very good friend of mine once told me:
Brown eyes say, "Love me or I'll die!"
Blue eyes say, "Love me or I'll kill you!"
I have to say - I think she was on to something...
That's funny @!$%#.
What a crock! Certainly hope no taxpayer dollars went in to this crap.
Highly doubtful since the lead author of the study works at a university in the Czech Republic.
Oops, double post.
Blue and Green eyes are the most beautiful and desirable, but only White people have those.....
Liberals always have to make everyone feel good, even when it's not the truth.
Actually that isn't true regarding white people only having blue and green eyes. Other races have had these eye colors when genetics comes into play. I've known and seen blacks, hispanics, japanese and chinese with the blue and green coloring. And it isn't due to contacts.
Why does everything have to be about race and politics? It's not like every minority person has brown eyes and every white person has blue or green eyes. My paternal grandmother had red hair and steely gray eyes, all natural, and she was black. And most white people, at least in the US, have brown eyes.
Seriously, you need to get out more.
@Thomas - Ever seen a black person with green or blue eyes? Gorgeous.