Have you ever wondered why certain eye colors are so beautifully alluring? We decided to ask a psychologist and dig into some research to find out. According to World Atlas, approximately 79% of the world’s population has brown eyes, making it the most common eye color in the world. After brown comes the blue-eyed crowd, with 8% to 10% of the world having blue eyes, 5% having amber or hazel eyes, and 2% of the world having green eyes. Statistically speaking, the rarest eye colors are gray and red/violet, and this novelty could be the reason gray eyes ranked as the most popular color among survey participants. “It makes sense that the rarer colors tend to be more captivating,” clinical psychologist Carla Marie Manly, Ph.D., explains in an interview with mbg. “Rooted in primitive survival mechanisms, the human mind—and the human eye—tends to notice that which is different and unique.” According to Manly, this tendency came from the need to notice that which was “different” in the environment in order to ascertain if the novel item or experience was safe or unsafe. Throughout evolution, she says, we’ve retained this interest in that which is novel. And though in some cases that which is novel is considered a detriment in others—such as a different eye color—it can also be considered interesting or attractive. Having more melanin, the pigment that creates the darkened hue of brown eyes, has been associated with things like being better at sports1 and being worse at handling alcohol. Some research2 shows that people with lighter eye colors, on the other hand, tend to be less agreeable and more competitive. There’s also a lot to be said about what we associate with specific eye colors. A peer-reviewed study3 published in the journal PLOS ONE found we subconsciously assume people with brown eyes are more trustworthy. That said, the researchers found this wasn’t necessarily due to the eye color itself but rather the facial structure accompanying brown-eyed people. These researchers posit that the rounder and softer features of brown-eyed individuals make their faces appear more babylike and, thus, more innocent or trustworthy. Tangentially, the researchers suggest that the sometimes longer and more angular features of people with blue eyes strip them of this quality. As a counterpoint, though, a separate study found brown eyes to be associated with dominance. The 1-800-Contacts survey did align with a lot of that research, though: When asked about what personality traits they associated with each eye color, blue eyes were considered “sexy” and associated with a love for “trying new things” while brown eyes were considered “trustworthy” and “kind.” “Our culture often idolizes a ‘blond-haired, blue-eyed’ person; this has been emphasized in movies and the media for decades,” she tells mbg. “As such, the ‘fun’ and ‘sexy’ aspects attributed to a blue-eyed person are certainly a result of the heavy media influences.” Thus, when it comes to eye color, Manly explains that it’s important to factor in how humans are—from childhood forward—exposed to the likes of Cinderella, Snow White, Barbie, TV, and movie personalities who tend to play out the fantasy that blue-eyed people are “fun” and “adventurous” whereas a person with steely-gray eyes or brown eyes might be typecast as the serious, sensible—yet kind—individual. “We are, as a society, very much influenced by the media,” says Manly. “Yes, we certainly may have an innate personal preference, yet much of what we are attracted to is based upon a long history (from birth forward) of what is [socially] deemed attractive.” All these factors—rarity, cultural ideals, and sexual imprinting—probably play individual roles in determining which eye color a person is most drawn to. For most people, eye color will in no way be a deal-breaker in choosing one lover over another, but the next time you lose your train of thought because you’re captivated by your partner’s oceanic blue eyes, you can blame Cinderella—or maybe your dad.
