Eye colour makes no notable difference to shooting accuracy

The summary today

The idea comes from some work in the 1970s suggesting that light-eyed people rely more on internal cues and dark-eyed people respond better to external stimuli: in a movement where you decide for yourself when to go, such as shooting, the difference might have shown. The only study that has put it to the test in archery, from the United States in 1989, does not find it. In ninety-six American pupils in grades 7 and 8, twenty arrows with school bows, eye colour does not change the score in either girls or boys (F = 0.05), while sex does. In thirty adults with one to six years of archery and their own equipment, sixty arrows at twenty yards, it does not either: the difference between light and dark eyes is not significant (F = 0.48). The group means sit in a table that cannot be read in the copy of the paper available to the registry, so it is not possible to say by how much, or which way, they differ. The result is consistent across the two samples, but it is a single two-page study, with eye colour reported by the participants themselves and only nine dark-eyed adults: enough to say there is no large difference, not to rule out a small one.

Also phrased as: "light eyes and archery"; "eye colour and aiming"; "blue eyes shoot better"; "iris pigmentation and accuracy"

Evidence

• 1989
  For Archers Published later

  96 pupils in grades 7 and 8 from a Kansas school district, 20 arrows with school bows from 20 or 30 feet, scoring 0 to 5 per arrow: eye colour, as reported by the pupils, does not change the score (F = 0.05, p > 0.05). There are 28 light-eyed and 11 dark-eyed girls, and 31 and 26 boys; no interaction with sex or school year, while boys score more than girls (F = 27.17). The group means sit in Table 1, which cannot be read in the copy of the paper available to the registry.

  Effects of Eye Color and Sex on Accuracy in Archery · John Beer, Paula Fleming, William Knorr

• 1989
  For Archers Published later

  In the same study, 30 adults (27 men and 3 women) with one to six years of experience and their own equipment, 60 arrows at 20 yards: 21 light-eyed and 9 dark-eyed, F = 0.48, not significant; the means in Table 1 cannot be read in the registry's copy. The printed text says "p < .05", which with that F value is a misprint. No dark-eyed women.

  Effects of Eye Color and Sex on Accuracy in Archery · John Beer, Paula Fleming, William Knorr

Status history

1. 1989 Reported The question comes from a 1970s hypothesis that light-eyed people would do better at tasks where they decide for themselves when to act, such as shooting. A study from the United States puts it to the test on two samples. In ninety-six American pupils in grades 7 and 8, eye colour does not change the score in either girls or boys (F = 0.05). In thirty adults with one to six years of archery and their own equipment, sixty arrows at twenty yards, light and dark eyes produce scores that do not differ (F = 0.48). It is a single study, and it supports the absence of a difference: reported.

Related

Research lines

• 15 studiesThe score gap between men and women
• 14 studiesGaze and vision: quiet eye, eye dominance and oculomotor behaviour

Other claims in this domain

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• ReportedA longer quiet eye improves shooting accuracy3 studies · 58 archers measuredStatus since 2017
• ReportedA mental profile tells archers apart from athletes in other sports only in part5 studies · 550 archers measuredStatus since 2018
• ReportedA mental training programme improves the elite archer's mood1 study · 16 archers measuredStatus since 2023
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See all claims on mind and attention