Coplan R J, Coleman B, Rubin K H
Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Dev Psychobiol. 1998 Jan;32(1):37-44. doi: 10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(199801)32:1<37::aid-dev4>3.0.co;2-u.
In recent years, researchers have uncovered a link between iris pigmentation and inhibition/social wariness among young children (e.g., Rosenberg & Kagan, 1987, 1989; Rubin & Both, 1989). In the present study, 152 Caucasian preschool-aged (Mage = 54.09 months, SD = 5.84) children (77 males) with either blue (n = 84) or brown (n = 68) eyes, were compared in terms of parental and teacher ratings of social wariness, social play, and aggression. A significant Eye Color x Gender Interaction 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 supported the notion that eye color is a marker variable for social wariness in young children.
