In the emotional domain, images of individuals with reddened sclera - yellow was not examined - are rated as showing more sadness, anger, fear, and disgust and less happiness than images of individuals with normal, untinted sclera. Given these results, eye drops that “get the red out” are used as beauty aids. White sclera join such traits as smooth skin and long, lustrous hair as signs of health, beauty, and reproductive fitness. Although reddish and yellowish eyes have been recognized as medical symptoms since antiquity, the social and adaptive impact of such judgments has been neglected. Images of individuals with reddened or yellowed sclera are rated as less healthy, less attractive, and older than those with untinted control sclera (Provine, Cabrera, & Nave-Blodgett, 2013). Recent research that contrasted ratings of normal eye images with copies of those same images whose sclera were tinted red or yellow reveals that individuals use scleral color to make judgments about health, attractiveness, age, and emotion. Cues about the color of the sclera (the white of the eyes) can be added to the cited examples of iris and pupil, retina, and eye movements. The eye provides a rich variety of information about normal and abnormal behavior and health, as noted by Scott Sleek in “Eye-Tuned” in the May/June 2014 Observer.
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