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

✍ Scribed by Robert J. Coplan; Benjamin Coleman; Kenneth H. Rubin

• Book ID: 101265859
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 126 KB
• Volume: 32
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0012-1630
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1098-2302(199801)32:1<37::aid-dev4>3.0.co;2-u

✦ Synopsis

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.