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Home > News & Articles > Articles > Wait til you see the whites of their eyes

Wait til you see the whites of their eyes

16th June, 2008 by Trevor Silvester

One of the differences that exist between humans and the other apes is the distinctive white around our pupils; apes tend to be much less differentiated. Researchers wondered if it conveyed a communication advantage to us to be able to see eye movement more clearly.

In a clever experiment they got apes to watch a person and see how they responded when the experimenter looked up and to the sides, either moving their head only, their eyes only, or both. They discovered that apes responded much more to the movement of the head in terms of it causing them to look in the same direction, then to the eyes. When the experiment was repeated with a child the result was the opposite, the child followed the experimenters gaze much more, and placed less importance on the movement of the head.

It might be that, being communal hunters, being able to see a comrades eyes and follow their direction at a distance enabled prey to be hunted more effectively. In apes, other apes being able to see where you were looking could cost you food.

But it also might have significance in other areas of social cooperation. In NLP the idea of eyes looking in certain directions for different kinds of internal thought processes has been around for many years. I know it’s disputed in many quarters, and I don’t think it’s as simple as the basic model suggests, but I do believe that eye direction is often connected to the context or structure of a current thought, and I think that unconsciously we read such connections all the time; ever wondered why we describe someone who is unhappy as ‘looking down’, why someone is a ‘down right liar’, why we suggest to people that ‘things will look up’.

Perhaps the whiteness of our eyes has something to do with our ability to read people as well as we do?

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Books by Trevor Silvester

Cognitive Hypnotherapy: What's that about and how can I use it? - Two simple questions for change
This book defines an exciting new approach to the field of therapy and counselling. Cognitive Hypnotherapy is a model that can be used to create a unique treatment plan for each client, using techniques drawn from any school of thought, integrated into a single model that uses the clients own mind to solve their own problems.


Wordweaving: The Science of Suggestion - A Comprehensive Guide to Creating Hypnotic Language
In this new approach to the use of hypnotic suggestion, we aim to free you from the constraints of scripts and enable you to use your creative skill to weave subtle spells that empower your clients by changing their model of reality.


The Question is the Answer: Focusing on Solutions with Cognitive Hypnotherapy (Wordweaving 2)
This book builds on the model introduced in Wordweaving, and shows you how to ask the questions that will provide you with the information you need to create hypnotic language patterns specifically for each client.


Lovebirds: How to Live with the One You Love
One of the biggest mistakes we make is to treat other people as if they are just like us. I've been helping couples improve their lives together for over 20 years, and one thing is clear to me: most couples don't flounder through lack of love, but through a lack of understanding. Lovebirds will teach you how to live with the one you love.

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