Surprise is one of the most unusual manifestations of facial expressions in humans. In this article we will talk about how this phenomenon occurs, what it depends on, and what features are inherent in it.
Why is a person surprised?
Before you find out why people round their eyes in surprise, you should understand the causes of this emotion.
The basis of surprise is always some kind of object that suddenly falls into the field of view or audibility. Moreover, it can be both the real thing, and the phenomenon, sound, news. The main thing is that this should come as a surprise, because only then will a person be truly surprised.The body experiences this emotion reflexively, on the basis of its instincts..
As soon as something unusual comes into view or hearing, the brain subconsciously causes surprise, riveting the person’s attention on this. It is precisely because of this that people seem to fall into a stupor, unable to move, since consciousness concentrates them on the subject, and it does not matter, surprise is accompanied by fear or joy.
And if numbness is only a side effect, rounded eyes play an important role in the process of surprise.
Why are eyes widening?
The expansion of the eyeballs occurs automatically, in most cases, a person does not control this action. As soon as an object appeared in sight that caused surprise, the brain itself seeks to provide as much information as possible about it. This can be done by increasing the viewing angle and a more thorough visual assessment.
That is why when testing this emotion, the eyes are rounded: the consciousness simply wants to get more data about what is happening by expanding the field of view.
This may seem strange, because the rounded eyes practically do not help in assessing the situation and examining the object. Modern people already perfectly see everything they need, maintaining the standard position of the eyelids.
But, as mentioned above, this behavior is reflexive. It was developed with the help of instincts by primitive people. At that time, a man lived in a completely different environment, faced with other dangers. He had to rely not on the phone, car or computer, but on his feelings. Therefore, the ability to sharply increase the viewing angle during surprise was a really useful skill.
Now this reflex is used by default, inherited from distant ancestors.
Eyes and mouth
In addition to rounding the eyeballs, surprise is often accompanied by an open mouth. At first glance, it might seem that there is no connection, but this is not so. An open mouth is also one of the reasons that causes rounding of the eyes during surprise.
This facial feature is also built on reflexes and flows back to the distant past, to primitive people. When danger appeared nearby, their body tried to sharpen all feelings as much as possible and increase the chances of survival.
When the monkey-like person opened his mouth during surprise, the vomeronasal organ began to work, enhancing the sense of smell. As soon as odors penetrated the nose, the body aggravated other sensors: ears and eyesight. And if the hearing organs did not change their shape, then the eyelids parted in different directions.
During rounding, the eyes are rounded to provide the person with a larger viewing angle to examine the object that provoked this feeling. However, in the modern world this skill has no practical benefit.
