Eye Movements and Lying: What Eye Movements Say About a Person

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What do eye movements say about a person when he or she is speaking?

Non-verbal communication is perhaps the most important communication tool that people use on a daily basis. People use non-verbal communication to give messages and receive messages. It is also used for critical decisions regarding people, interpersonal relationships and actions. For this reason, being aware of non-verbal communication and how to use and interpret it can be of great value in individuals’ daily lives.

Most people have been in a situation where, for some reason, perhaps unknown, they immediately feel a rapport with another individual. The opposite is also true. Most people have had an encounter with a complete stranger who, at first sight, they either dislike or do not trust. This is non-verbal communication in action. One person is communicating, not only through words but through body language and eye movement. The viewer, in turn, unconsciously assimilates and interprets these messages to reach conclusions

Non-verbal communication (also known as “body language”) occurs when people interact with friends, relations and workmates. People interpret others’ non-verbal communications, integrate their perception with what they know of that person and make decisions regarding that person – often without realizing why or how they came to a specific conclusion.

One of the most important organs for non-verbal communication are the eyes- the “windows to the soul.” For millennium, the eyes have had a special significance in all cultures and societies. In art, the portrayal of the eyes can often determine how the viewer relates to a particular work of art. One example is the “Mona Lisa” whose intriguing smile is also accompanied by eyes that appear to follow the viewer wherever they go.

Science has shown that the unconscious use of body language is based on physical phenomena that influence the way people’s bodies react and communicate under differing circumstances. Understanding body language, including eye movements, the ability to control own body language and to accurately read the messages being sent by others can be of great advantage in many situations.

Eye Movements and Lying

In their book, “Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming,” Richard Bandler and John Grindler postulate that the directions in which a person’s eyes move when asked a question, reveals a great deal about the response, including whether it is true or false. When asked a question a “normally organized” right-handed person looks (from your viewpoint, looking at them):

Looking Up and to the Left
Indicates: Visually Constructed Images (Vc)
If you asked someone to “Imagine a purple buffalo”, this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about the question as they “Visually Constructed” a purple buffalo in their mind.

Looking Up and to the Right
Indicates: Visually Remembered Images (Vr)
If you asked someone to “What color was the first house you lived in?”, this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about the question as they “Visually Remembered” the color of their childhood home.

Looking To the Left
Indicates: Auditory Constructed (Ac)
If you asked someone to “Try and create the highest the sound of the pitch possible in your head”, this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about the question as they “Auditorily Constructed” this this sound that they have never heard of.
eyes looking right

Looking To the Right
Indicates: Auditory Remembered (Ar)
If you asked someone to “Remember what their mother’s voice sounds like “, this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about the question as they “Auditorily Remembered ” this sound.

Looking Down and to the Left
Indicates: Feeling / Kinesthetic (F)
If you asked someone to “Can you remember the smell of a campfire? “, this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about the question as they used recalled a smell, feeling, or taste.

Looking Down and To the Right
Indicates: Internal Dialog (Ai)
This is the direction of someone eyes as they “talk to themselves”.

It is important to be aware that these conclusions are disputed by many researchers. Any attempt to use them should be done with care. Ideally, as in a polygraph, the subject should be first asked a series of questions with known answers in order to “calibrate” the procedure.

Additionally, the eye movements relate to right-handed individuals. Left-handed people will have an opposite response. Cultural differences and language barriers can also influence a person’s specific body language.

Resources About Eye Movements

Utah.edu Government agencies and big business are scrambling for “the next big thing” in lie detection. And two U of U professors may have what they’re after.

Blifaloo.com Eye Movement and Direction & How it Can Reveal Truth or Lies

Resource by E.Trio

I am an online writer and soon to be published author. I grew up in Southern California, but I currently live in the Bay Area while I work on my books. I enjoy camping and hiking with my dog Max or just relaxing on the back porch while I write. Stay tuned for my first children’s book to be released about Max.

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