Eye Color, Behavioral Inhibition, and Performance in Self-paced and Reactive Hunting Domains: A Further Test of the Worthy Hypothesis

The present paper examined the hypothesis that light eye color serves as a marker for underlying physiological processes related to greater behavioral inhibition. The paper also tested the hypothesis that light eye color would be associated with preference and ability in self-paced hunting domains whereas dark eye color would be associated with preference and ability in reactive hunting domains. A total of 164 college students and 122 hunters attending a Sportsmen's expo indicated their eye color and completed a measure of behavioral inhibition. Hunters also rated the frequency, number of harvests, and enjoyment for reactive hunting (dove, duck, and quail) and for self-paced hunting (deer and turkey). Overall there was little evidence for eye color differences in hunting behavior. However, dark-eyed hunters did hunt dove more frequently than light-eyed hunters. The predicted eye color difference did emerge for personality, with light-eyed individuals scoring higher on behavioral inhibition than did dark-eyed individuals.