Eyes up here: The science behind how men and women look at potential mates

At least once in our lives, we've all caught someone in an "eyes up here" scenario. And whether we've personally been busted for this behaviour or not, sometimes our eyes do wander and we end up looking anywhere and everywhere but a person's face in a totally subconscious way. Well, you can now put the blame squarely on science because, according to new research, how you look at a person differs depending on whether you view them platonically or romantically, and men and women may have different eye patterns altogether.

A recent study by a team at Wellesley College aimed to analyze the visual path our eyes take when viewing someone, and if that path changes depending on our intentions with that person. The study took 105 undergrad students, all heterosexual, and asked them to examine images of strangers of the opposite sex. Then, the students were prompted with questions on whether they would consider the person in the image as a potential mate or just a friend.

The results showed that both men and women view potential mates in a noticeably different manner than those they'd wish to befriend. When the image showed someone they'd wish to date, viewers looked at the head and chest area of their subjects both longer and more often than their non-romantic counterparts. In people they intended to remain friendly with, the viewers' eyes lingered more on their subjects' legs and feet.

While this makes for an interesting trend all on its own, the divisions amongst male and female viewing patterns were even more intriguing. The study noted than men were more likely to look at the chest and hip areas of a subject regardless of whether or not they viewed them as a potential mate or not. Men were also much more likely to focus on their subjects' legs. On the other hand, female viewers stuck more to the chest and head regions. Women who looked longer at the head region were found to be more interested in a friendship with the subject, while men who did the same reported less of a friendly interest, leading researchers to presume that men view the face in a more critical fashion than women do.

Not only does what we're looking for inform our gaze, the situations we're in seem to alter our eyes as well. The study found that single women viewers looked for romance far more than women viewers who were currently in a relationship. There were also some patterns that persisted across the board — time spent looking at the middle region of the body indicated a greater interest in both friendship and romance, while the legs and feet were generally the least-observed areas.

While it may be unfair to infer hard facts from these results (though it's previously been uncovered that men use beauty as a romantic qualifier and that the male and female brains are, in many ways, structurally and functionally different), what the study really highlights is the importance and complexity of how we interpret what we see in other people. Researchers suggest that (beyond admiring physical presence) what we're looking for are social cues and where we look most might be the biggest indicators of where we find them. Anyone who has looked into body language knows that we often make seemingly trivial, subconscious gestures that can have a significant impact on how others read our intentions and personalities.

Couple all these findings together, along with a potentially endless number of other contexts and considerations, and bizarre patterns can emerge, like another recent study that suggests women find smiling men less attractive. Your brain is always eager to use your eyes as an instantaneous interpreter, observing, judging and reacting to thousands of appearances and behaviours to help you find whatever (or whoever) it is you may be looking for. Remember that the next time you're caught letting your eyes wander.