These eye features affect how others perceive you – and even how much money they will give you

Feast your eyes on the iris.

Of course, being blessed with a chosen eye color is cool. But a new study reveals that the size of the pupil and the brightness of the iris are the real money makers.

“Brighter irises and larger pupils elicited larger donations,” noted experts from Leiden University in the Netherlands in a recent report on how our eyes affect others’ perceptions of us, as well as their willingness to spent charity funds. Â

The team conducted two experimental studies, in which they assigned participants to rate photos of non-human primates – “furballs within the ape family” with altered eyes.

In the inaugural study, 64 participants were shown portraits of 32 different species, including chimpanzees, bonobos and pig-tailed macaques, whose pupil size was manipulated to appear constricted or dilated while maintaining iris brightness. Â

“We asked participants how much money they would donate to each portrait and to rate them on how cute, friendly, and attractive they looked,” the investigators wrote. They noted that donations “increased for portraits with dilated pupils only in species with bright irises.”

Subjects also perceived animals with larger pupils as cuter, friendlier, and more attractive than creatures that did not have the “look at me” trait.

For their second investigation, the analysts manipulated both pupil size and iris brightness

“Participants donated significantly more when exposed to portraits that featured primates with bright rather than dark irises,” the professionals determined. “Donations were also larger when the pupils were prescribed to dilate rather than constrict.”

People in the study rated primates with brighter irises as cuter if they had dilated pupils and less cute if their pupils were narrow.

Respondents also perceived primates with brighter irises as friendlier if they had dilated pupils and less friendly if their pupils were narrow. Participants also rated primates with brighter irises as more attractive only if they had dilated pupils.

The data echo previous findings by research led by Zachary Estes of the University of London. In a July study, Estes confirmed that “people look more attractive when their irises are larger, showing more sparkle in their eyes.”

Cosmetic procedures for brightening the iris, known as keratopigmentation, are also buzzing among girlfriends with the desire to be the apple of someone’s eye.

Leiden University insiders seem to support the belief that beauty – not to mention financial generosity – is indeed in EYEof the viewer

“Our results show that small changes in perceived eye morphology influence behavior and affective responses,” the clinicians said.

“Donation behavior and affective responses are significantly affected when we manipulate the perceived iris brightness and pupil size of our portraits,” they added.

“Perceived friendliness and friendliness were greatest in portraits with bright irises and large pupils.â€