By: Dr. Omale Charles
Eyes are not called the windows of our soul for nothing. Eyes often behave as the focal point for a myriad of recognisable facial expressions from shock or alarm to joy and surprise. But what about more subtle eye signs?
Body language first became popular in the 1960`s as the science of flirting began to develop. It had been customary for centuries for woman to use a herb called Bella Dona (Deadly Nightshade) to dilate their pupils. However a psychologist called Neisser was first to prove that when given two photos of the same woman, one with her pupils dilated and one without, most men would naturally find the former more attractive- without being able to explain why.
We now know that when excited, adrenaline flows and widens the pupil. But care should be taken as your new partner`s wide pupils may also indicate anger or fear as much as romance!
Eye contact is an important part of any interpersonal relationship. Maintaining eye contact tends to give an impression of honesty and genuineness, whilst poor eye contact may indicate lack of interest, being untruthful, shyness or a feeling of superiority. When first meeting someone, studies have shown eye contact may be fairly rigid with glances merely moving from one eye to the other, but as one relaxes eye movements start darting around to include the mouth. A sign of flirting is an increase in glances towards the body.
Blinking is another important body language sign. Two individuals flirting tend to blink more often, and their blink rate tends to become synchronised, both eventually blinking at the same frequency. In contrast blinking frequently in a business setting tends to betray anxiety and lack of confidence, and is also distracting to listeners, so business executives should try to minimise their blink rate.
And finally we have the eyebrow raise, said to be the most universal cross cultural sign of expressing interest. When seeing someone attractive, or hearing of an attractive idea, all of us raise our eyebrows and then let them fall, unconsciously. When flirting this action tends to be momentary (about a fifth of a second to be precise) but nevertheless it is often subconsciously detected by the other, together with eye contact. Politicians and businessmen often exaggerate this manoeuvre to emphasise interest in their negotiating partner`s point of view, whether genuine or not.
Eyes give out almost as much information as they take in, but be warned. Most psychologists recommend assessing at least four body language cues before being confident about their interpretation.
