Our pupils, the black holes which let light into the eyes,
don’t just help us see, they also signal what’s going on in our minds.
Here are various pieces of psychological research which show
how changes in pupil size reveal many aspects of thought.
I’m
thinking hard
Look into my eyes and ask me to name the cigar-smoking
founder of psychoanalysis and you won’t see much change in my pupil size. The
name Sigmund Freud comes easily to my lips.
But ask me to explain the laws of cricket and watch my
pupils expand.
My
brain is overloaded
Keep watching my eyes closely and you’ll spot the point when
explaining the laws of cricket gets too much.
Poock (1973) reported that when participants’ minds were
loaded to 125% of their capacity, their pupils constricted.
I’m
brain damaged
The reason doctors and paramedics flash a light in patients’
eyes is to check their brains are working normally (and because it’s such an
easy test to do). They use the acronym PERRL: the Pupils should be Equal, Round
and Reactive to Light.
If my brain is broken, say, because I’ve had a bump on the
noggin, you won’t see PERRL. There may well be other extremely subtle clues,
like the blood pouring from my head.
You’re
holding my interest
The size of my pupils can also signal whether I’m interested
in what you’re saying.
White and Maltzman (1977) had participants listening to
excerpts from three books: one was erotic, another involved mutilation while a
third was neutral.
Their pupils widened at first for all three. But they only
remained wide for the passages that were erotic or involved mutilation.
I’m likely to be interested in anything new, so my pupils
will dilate a bit at first, but they’ll only stay dilated if I continue to be
interested.
You’re
turning me on
If things take a sexual turn then our eyes are also
involved. Both men and women’s pupils expand when they are sexually aroused.
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