Not just cliche! Eyes really ARE windows to the soul - what do yours say about you?
GETTY Eyes are more likely to be a sign of that person's emotions than simply reacting to sunlight
For whether they are screwed up or wide open, it is more likely to be a sign of that person's emotions than simply reacting to sunlight or other factors, the research claims. It means that all those expressions about being able to tell what someone is like from looking into their eyes are not just old wives' tales after all. According to a study by experts in human development, what we see in the pupils, the overall shape of the eye and even the movement of eyebrows are a communication of emotions.
And our ability to read those signs is a process that has been mastered by people all over the world for centuries, said Cornell University in New York for the journal Psychological Science. Narrowed eyes, as if squinting into the sun, register emotions such as disgust and suspicion while wide open eyes express fear and awe, said professor of human development Adam Anderson. He said: "When looking at the face, the eyes dominate emotional communication.
GETTY What we see in the pupils are the communication of emotions
"The eyes are windows to the soul likely because they are first conduits for sight. Emotional expressive changes around the eye influence how we see, and in turn, this communicates to others how we think and feel." There are six basic expressions of emotion that can be identified by measures such as how wide the eyes are open, the distance from the eyebrow to the eyes, the wrinkles around the nose and the movement of the face immediately under the eye, the research discovered.
Nat Geo: World through animals' eyes Tue, January 19, 2016 Various close-ups of animals eyes in the February issue of National Geographic magazine. Play slideshow David Liittschwager / Nat Geo 1 of 12 The National Geographic's 'World through animals' eyes'
GETTY Our ability to read these signs is a process that has been mastered by people all over the world