Search results
Jul 6, 2023 · We all instinctively perceive eyes like Manson's to be "crazy eyes." The science behind "eye reading" “Long before we had the science of body language, people were already ‘seeing things’ in ...
- Kristina Mastrocola
- There's no blue pigment in blue eyes. Even though blue eyes appear to be, well, blue, they're actually not blue at all. It sounds crazy, but here's no such thing as blue pigment when it comes to our peepers — you're either melanated or not very melanated at all.
- Only a small percentage of people have blue eyes. Although there are a ton of actors, models, and other celebs who have blue eyes, which can make these colored eyes seem like a common asset (at least on television), not all that many people are lucky enough to boast baby blues.
- But blue eyes are not the rarest eye color. Although the odds of having blue eyes are markedly lower than having brown eyes, blue isn't the rarest of all eye colors.
- This is where blue eyes are the most common. Blue eyes can appear to be more or less common depending where in the world you are, as the phenotype is much more common in some places.
- Overview
- How they’re supposedly different
- The ‘psychopath stare’
- What about ‘sanpaku’ eyes?
- What the research says
- Are there any reliable ways to identify psychopathy in someone?
- The bottom line
Crime dramas, thriller movies, and mystery novels have popularized psychopathy, contributing to plenty of myths around what it truly means.
For example, sometimes people use “psychopath” interchangeably with other stigmatizing terms, such as “evil,” “violent,” or “criminal.” Perhaps you’ve read psychopaths experience no emotions at all and care nothing for the consequences of their actions.
You might’ve even heard it’s possible to recognize a psychopath simply by looking into their eyes.
Yet psychopathy is somewhat more complex than these ideas suggest.
First of all, psychopathy isn’t an actual mental health diagnosis. It’s a casual term for traits typically associated with a psychiatric diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).
People with ASPD usually:
Your eyes, and their movements, can convey a lot of information about mood and emotions, from happiness to humor to boredom to disdain.
While your gaze might linger on someone you find attractive or appealing, you might quickly look away from something that frightens or disturbs you. Your pupils also dilate when you experience strong emotions, including fear, anger, and love (or lust).
Some experts even believe eyes can offer clues to underlying personality traits, offering support for the idea that your eyes offer a glimpse of your soul.
The various suggested characteristics of “psychopath eyes” seem to echo the general belief that people with ASPD have no emotions to show.
These descriptions include:
•dead, flat, or reptilian-like eyes
Maybe you’ve also heard of the “psychopath stare.”
People generally describe this as a prolonged, predatory gaze, or a fixed stare that feels unsettling and uncomfortable. Maybe you feel like someone’s watching you and catch their eyes every time you look up.
The suggested reasons for this stare vary.
Some people believe those with psychopathic traits use intense eye contact to startle others and catch them off-guard, so they can use manipulation tactics more easily.
Others suggest it’s a way of maintaining power and control during social interactions.
Still, others say it’s simply boredom. Staring intensely could make someone feel nervous, even somewhat fearful — reactions that people who enjoy causing fear and pain would, of course, enjoy.
According to Japanese face reading, various elements of your face can offer insight on your personality, abilities, and experiences.
Sanpaku, which means “three whites,” is one element of face reading.
If you look at your own eyes in a mirror, you’ll see the whites (sclera) on either side of each iris, of course. But if you also see white above or below the iris, your eyes are considered sanpaku — they have three whites.
Sanpaku is further divided into two subtypes:
•Yin sanpaku. This refers to the white below the iris. Traditionally, yin sanpaku suggests you may face some type of threat or danger from the world, or that you have a tendency to expose yourself to risks or danger.
•Yang sanpaku. This refers to the white above the iris. It’s said to suggest you face more of a threat from within. In other words, you’re more likely to have a hard time managing unwanted emotions, which could negatively affect both your behavior and overall well-being.
Pupil response
A 2018 study explored the connection between psychopathic traits and pupil dilation in response to stimuli. Researchers started by measuring primary and secondary psychopathy traits in 82 male psychiatric hospital inpatients: •Primary psychopathy traits refer to interpersonal-affective traits and behaviors, such as lack of guilt, low empathy, and a tendency to manipulate. •Secondary psychopathy traits refer to lifestyle-antisocial behaviors, such as lawbreaking, conduct problems, and impulsive or risky behavior. They then showed participants a combination of images, video, and sound clips intended to provoke negative, positive, or neutral emotional responses. When looking at negative images or angry faces, participants with higher levels of primary psychopathy showed less pupil dilation than other participants. Experts didn’t notice any change in pupil dilation in response to the positive images, or any of the audio clips. They also didn’t find a similar response in participants who scored high on measures of secondary psychopathy, but not primary psychopathy. An earlier study conducted by the same researchers considered the possible connection between psychopathic traits and pupil activity in 102 male and female university students. This study didn’t show any clear link between psychopathic traits and a diminished pupil response. The study authors offered a potential explanation that levels of psychopathy tend to be lower in community samples. In other words, the primary traits they later connected to pupil response may not show up as often, or as strongly, in the general community — only in people who score very high on measures of psychopathy.
Eye contact
Three separate studies challenge the idea of the so-called “psychopathic stare.” Findings from these studies suggest people who score higher on measures of psychopathy are actually less likely to make eye contact or fixate on the eyes of others. A 2017 study compared 30 men who had at least one conviction for violence with 25 men who didn’t. When shown images of faces, participants with higher boldness scores on the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (a questionnaire designed to identify psychopathy) were slower to look at the eye region. They also spent less time overall looking at the eyes. The study authors suggested this could support links between psychopathic traits, difficulty processing emotions, and a decreased fear response. A 2018 study explored the connection between psychopathic traits and eye gaze in a sample of 108 incarcerated men. This study also found evidence to suggest people who scored higher on measures of interpersonal-affective traits paid less attention to faces showing fear. A third study published in 2020 focused on eye contact in social interactions. Through a series of face-to-face conversations with 30 incarcerated adults, researchers found that those with higher affective psychopathy scores tended to make less eye contact throughout the conversation. Together, these findings contradict the idea of a psychopathic stare. They also support existing research that suggests people with psychopathic traits have trouble recognizing and processing emotions, social cues, and facial expressions.
It’s pretty much impossible to “see” psychopathy in someone’s eyes, or in any other physical characteristics.
Yes, people with specific psychopathic traits may show less pupil dilation when encountering frightening images. Still, as experts have pointed out, this may be less obvious in everyday life — especially when you don’t know exactly what to look for.
Even then, the lack of dilation could have another explanation. And, don’t forget, decreased pupil response didn’t seem to apply to people with mostly secondary psychopathic traits.
The same goes for eye contact. People may or may not make eye contact during conversations for any number of reasons. They might be shy or simply nervous. They could have social anxiety or autism.
Research also counters other common assumptions about psychopathy.
For example, people with ASPD can:
It’s always best to avoid making assumptions about personality based on appearance or body language. Personality disorders, like any other mental health condition, show up in different ways from person to person.
Only trained mental health professionals have the knowledge and expertise needed to accurately diagnose ASPD. They’ll make this diagnosis by exploring long-standing patterns of exploitation and manipulation in a person’s behavior — not by looking into their eyes.
People also ask
Are blue eyes a bad thing?
Why do some people have blue eyes?
Are people with blue eyes a meme?
Dec 19, 2018 · Korionov / Shutterstock. Psychopaths can be hard to spot. This is because they're not all murderers or criminals. Many are successful business people, surgeons, and even journalists. Researchers...
- 8 min
- Big family. A researcher in Denmark has concluded that every blue-eyed person in the world is related. Evidence suggests that every human being that existed up until around 6,000 or 10,000 years ago had brown eyes.
- Make it a double! This sounds more like it could be one of those myths someone made up a long time ago that persisted, but this one is actually true.
- Protect those blues! Blue eyes are more sensitive to light than darker-colored eyes since they do not have as much melanin. This sensitivity can make blue-eyed people more prone to problems like melanoma of the eyes.
- No guarantees. One might expect two blue-eyed people to give birth to offspring with eyes of the same color, but it is entirely possible for them to have children with brown eyes.
Aug 17, 2023 · 4,913. 0. Filed under "Guides" Published 9 months ago by Sakshi Rakshale. Like us on Facebook! Like 1.8M. Jokes about people with blue eyes have been slowly gaining popularity on the internet for years now, and act as an inverse to the infamous Eye Chart meme that places people with darker eyes at the bottom of the social hierarchy.
May 16, 2024 · Blue eyes are an inherited physical characteristic that only 8% to 10% of people worldwide have. Having blue eyes has advantages but may also put you at risk for disease. Learn more facts about blue eyes.
