When difficult decisions are needed A pupil dilation betrays the uncertainty

Study shows: pupil dilation reveals uncertainty
If a person is unsure of his decision, his pupils dilate. That's what Hamburg scientists found out. A pupil dilation can tell more about the affected person.

When people make mistakes in making simple decisions
Researchers at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) have found that pupils dilate when people are uncertain about making a decision. And even before they receive feedback on the correctness of the decision. As the scientists report in a communication from the clinic, the pupils react the most when people make a mistake in a simple decision.

Researchers have found that people who are uncertain about making a decision widen their pupils. (Image: PixieMe / fotolia.com)

Predict behavioral change by eye
In addition, the experts were able to predict a behavioral change based on the pupil response: "If the pupil expanded shortly after making a decision, the more likely it was that the next decision would be less influenced by previous decisions," the statement says.

To reach their results, the team led by Prof. Dr. med. Tobias Donner from the UKE's Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology 27 looked at a screen over which two clouds of dots moved.

While the subjects indicated which of the two cloud movements was stronger, the neuroscientists measured the pupils with a video camera.

The results of the study have now been published in the journal Nature Communications.

Pupil dilation reveals sexual orientation
The dilation of the pupils can say more about a person. For example, a few years ago, US researchers reported on a study that showed that pupil dilation at the sight of the preferred sex reveals sexual orientation.

The researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca found in their study that in heterosexual people, the pupil dilated when they looked at each other's sexes.

In the homosexual subjects, the researchers observed the same reaction when looking at same sex and bisexuals showed a widening of the pupils in both men and women. (Ad)