Eyes
She caused others to sneeze, so I had to pack up my kitten and send her away. Oblivion, the kitten, had a face that would make hearts melt. After three weeks, it was hard to say to goodbye. How did she pull it off? How can an organism that caused sneezing and liked to bite and tear up the couch capture the affection of those around her?
The psychologist may say that eyes had something to do with it. Large eyes and other “cute” features have an evolutionary advantage in some environments. Cuteness evokes a nurturing response in animals that ensures the caring for children and, in turn, the species.
But it wasn’t just the size of the eyes and cuteness. Oblivion also had pretty good eye contact. Cats that sit and stare at their masters are liked more than cats that go off and do their own thing. And, with humans, people that maintain good eye contact seem to put others at ease and succeed in the professional world. Those who look away are seen as nervous, awkward and are not trusted.
It is actually fairly logical that we don’t enjoy or trust those who do not make eye contact. The eyes hold a vast number of visual cues and reveal a speaker’s verbal meaning along with his or her emotional state. Eyes reveal happiness, sadness, boredom, excitement, nervousness, anger, intrigue, sarcasm and annoyance even when lips and words say that opposite. Those that look away hide this, thus we become annoyed with them and untrusting of them.
But beyond the cuteness and communication, eyes reveal one basic thing that we usually like- attention. When something or someone is looking at us, it shows us that we are in their vision and in the thoughts. That usually makes us feel important and needed, albeit for a moment.
The psychologist may say that eyes had something to do with it. Large eyes and other “cute” features have an evolutionary advantage in some environments. Cuteness evokes a nurturing response in animals that ensures the caring for children and, in turn, the species.
But it wasn’t just the size of the eyes and cuteness. Oblivion also had pretty good eye contact. Cats that sit and stare at their masters are liked more than cats that go off and do their own thing. And, with humans, people that maintain good eye contact seem to put others at ease and succeed in the professional world. Those who look away are seen as nervous, awkward and are not trusted.
It is actually fairly logical that we don’t enjoy or trust those who do not make eye contact. The eyes hold a vast number of visual cues and reveal a speaker’s verbal meaning along with his or her emotional state. Eyes reveal happiness, sadness, boredom, excitement, nervousness, anger, intrigue, sarcasm and annoyance even when lips and words say that opposite. Those that look away hide this, thus we become annoyed with them and untrusting of them.
But beyond the cuteness and communication, eyes reveal one basic thing that we usually like- attention. When something or someone is looking at us, it shows us that we are in their vision and in the thoughts. That usually makes us feel important and needed, albeit for a moment.
posted by American Dilettante at
4:14 PM
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