Shyness and Eye Color

Shyness and little boy blue: Iris pigmentation, gender, and social wariness in preschoolers

Coplan, Robert J et al.

Developmental Psychobiology. Vol 32(1), Jan 1998, pp. 37-44

Examined the relation between eye color, social wariness, and gender in a sample of preschool aged children. 84 blue-eyed and 68 brown-eyed Caucasian 3.5-5.5 yr olds were compared in terms of parental and teacher ratings of social wariness, social play, and aggression. A significant interaction between eye color and gender was found in terms of indices of social wariness; blue-eyed males were rated as more socially wary than brown-eyed males, while blue- and brown-eyed females did not differ in this regard. These results support the notion that eye color is a marker variable for social wariness in young children.