Eyes don't reveal when a person is lying despite the common belief that no fibber can hide behind them, research has shown.
For decades experts have been convinced that eye movements can reveal when someone is lying.
Many psychologists believe that when a person looks up to their right they are likely to be telling a lie.
Glancing up to the left, on the other hand, is said to indicate honesty.
But the experts are wrong, according to Professor Richard Wiseman and his team of researchers, who tested whether eyes really can reveal lies.
Do you know how to spot a liar? Scroll down (PICTURES)
The claimed link between lying and eye movements is a key element of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), a method of enhancing people's lives using psychological techniques.
An important aspect of NLP involves teaching people about the relationship between eye movements and thought.
According to the theory, when right-handed people look up to their right they are likely to be visualising a "constructed" or imagined event.
In contrast when they look to their left they are likely to be visualising a "remembered" memory.
For this reason, when liars are constructing their own version of the truth, they tend to look to the right.
The idea was tested by filming volunteers and recording their eye movements as they told the truth or lied.
A second group of volunteers was then asked to watch the films and try to detect the lies by watching the eye movements.
Psychologist Prof Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, said: "The results of the first study revealed no relationship between lying and eye movements, and the second showed that telling people about the claims made by NLP practitioners did not improve their lie detection skills."
A follow-up study involved analysing videos of high-profile press conferences in which people appealed for help in finding missing relatives, or claimed to have been victims of crime.
While some were telling the truth, others turned out to be lying.
Again, there was no evidence of a correlation between lying and eye movements.
Find out what your eyes reveal about your health below (PICTURES)
Co-author Dr Caroline Watt, from the University of Edinburgh, said: "A large percentage of the public believes that certain eye movements are a sign of lying, and this idea is even taught in organisational training courses. Our research provides no support for the idea and so suggests that it is time to abandon this approach to detecting deceit."
The research appears in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.
Prof Wiseman also added these tips on how to spot a liar:
-Me, myself I: Liars make up stories that never actually happened, and so tend to reduce the number of times they refer to themselves. Look out for any sudden drop in words like me, mine and I.
-Shifty: Lying is difficult and people tend not to move around when they are concentrating on something. Be wary if a person suddenly becomes very still.
-Umm ... err: Liars are far more hesitant than truth tellers and tend to stumble over their words. Listen out for tell-tale umms and errs.
-Timing: Liars often have to think about what they are going to say before they speak. Be suspicious if someone suddenly pauses before starting to answer a question.
- Token gesture: Liars tend to move their hands around more than truth tellers. Be wary if someone suddenly starts covering up their mouth or touching their hair as they chat.
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Different Shaped Pupils
The pupils (the black circle in the centre of the eye) in normal people are usually symmetrical, the same size and react in the same way when exposed to sunlight.
If one pupil is bigger or smaller than the other, there could be an underlying medical problem. Experts claim that differences in pupil size could indicate that the person is at a higher risk of having a stroke, brain or optic nerve tumour, or brain aneurysm.
<strong>If you spot any changes to your pupils, raise this with your GP, optometrist or ophthalmologist.</strong>
Dry Eyes (Sensitive To The Light)
If your eyes are always dry and ultra sensitive to light, it could signal an immune system disorder, <a href="http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Sjogrens-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx" target="_hplink">Sjogren</a>, which impairs the glands in the eyes and mouth.
The condition affects women over 40 with autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.
<strong>Seek advice from your GP if this sounds like you, as artificial lubricant can be prescribed and you'll be advised to drink plenty of water.</strong>
"Dry eyes are more common in women over 50 due to hormonal changes," adds Larry Benjamin from <a href="http://www.rcophth.ac.uk/" target="_hplink">The Royal College of Ophthalmologists. </a>
Cloudy Eyes
If your eye is covered in a 'cloud' and your vision is impaired because of it, you may have a cataract. This causes a clouding of the lens inside the eye and can be corrected with surgery.
This condition mainly occurs in older people but in younger people, it is commonly caused as a side effect of diabetes, tumours and some medication.
Itchy Eyes
Although there are many things that can cause itchiness around the eyes, the most common reason could be pinpointed to an allergic reaction. The eye, and the area around it, is delicate and sensitive and more vulnerable to infections and allergies. Triggers could be anything from airborne pollens, dust or animal fur.
<strong>If you suffer from red itchy eyes, try antihistamines to ease the redness, or visit your GP to organise an allergy test. </strong>
If your eye and eyelids become puffy and sore, this could be a sign that you're sleep deprived. "Fluid moves around your head when you sleep and normally disperses when you wake from a good night's sleep.
"However, lack of sleep causes this fluid to retain around the eye area for longer," explains Larry Benjamin from <a href="http://www.rcophth.ac.uk/" target="_hplink">The Royal College of Ophthalmologists</a>.
Grey Rings
If your eye has a light grey ring around the cornea (the coloured circle in your eye), you may have a condition called <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/arcus-senilis/AN01493" target="_hplink">arcus senilis</a>, which is often linked to high cholesterol levels and triglycerides - fatty acids found in the blood.
These are linked to higher risk of heart disease and strokes, so if you spot a grey ring circling your eye, <strong>visit your GP to discuss changing your diet. </strong>
Eyebrow Disappearance
Although it's natural for eyebrows to become thinner as we age, if you notice your brows literally 'disappearing' from the outer third of the eyebrow, this could signal a thyroid dysfunction.
Loss of eyebrow hair from the outer edges of your face is a common sign of hyperthyroidism (overactive thyroid) or hypothyroidism (under active thyroid).
Thyroids help regulate the metabolism and thyroid hormones are vital for hair production. <strong>If in doubt, book an appointment with your GP.</strong>
Watery Eyes
"Watery eyes can indicate infection," explains Larry Benjamin from <a href="http://www.rcophth.ac.uk/" target="_hplink">The Royal College of Ophthalmologists</a>. "If the eye is watery, you've most likely got an infection caused by a virus. If it's sticky, you might have a bacterial infection."
If your vision becomes blurry, this could also be the result of <a href="http://www.allaboutvision.com/cvs/" target="_hplink">Computer Vision Syndrome</a> (CVS), caused by eyestrain from lack of contrast on a computer screen. This makes the eyes work harder focusing on the pixels on the screen.
<strong>If in doubt, speak to your employer about booking an eye test, which is free if you use visual display units (VDU) for long periods of time. </strong>
Lumpy Eyelids
Yellow lumps, also known, as xanthelasma palpebral, which appear on your eyelids could be a warning signal that your cholesterol levels are sky high.
These are fatty deposits, which clump together and live in the eyelid. These are very often mistaken for a stye. Although these are quite common, <strong>it's best to get them checked by your optician or GP, as it can sometimes be an early sign of coronary artery disease. </strong>
If you spot any coloured spots on your eyelids, in particular brown spots, <strong>visit your GP immediately</strong> as it could be an early sign of skin cancer. These usually appear on the lower part of the eyelid and will look a brownish colour with tiny blood vessels.
Bloodshot Eyes
If your eyes are always blood-shot with broken blood vessels making them look blotchy and sore, this could be a sign that you have high blood pressure.
Your optician will be able to confirm this by looking at your retina (the inner part of the eye).
High blood pressure causes the blood vessel in the retina to 'kink and twist', causing them to break and look red. This could increase your risk of a stroke, so <strong>raise it with your GP as soon as possible. </strong>
Yellow Tint
If the whites of your eyes have a yellow tint rather than pearly white, you may have jaundice, which is linked to various liver and gall bladder problems.
A simple blood test will confirm this, so if you're in doubt, <strong>book an appointment with your GP. </strong>
Shocking this is. Good to know this but even professionals make up story by putting lie report about someone by making it up what they show and witness person been behaving where truth was hidden away to make their lie truth. After all, all bankers are there to make money and to hide their guilt they tend to study others behaviours by using this such technique.
godchild: Shocking this is. Good to know this but even professionals
The research that can be done takes in the average person and they are told to lie sometimes and tell the truth at others and then their eye movements are observed and compared. Most people will display some discomfort with lying. However there are those that are "professional liars" and I doubt that these people would ever volunteer for an experiment but even if they do they have a life time of practice behind them. These here http://kyrani99.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/the-toxic-people-and-their-networks-who-are-they/ -they are the two-faced variety and they are very nasty. You need your gut feeling on the one hand to spot them and on the other look out for game play, eg not responding in an appropriate amount of time during a conversation. It's a power game trick.
Kyrani99: The research that can be done takes in the average
For a good case study to be an expert to detect lying, Mitt Romney will be a good case.
And Busd sr, read my lips. (I suppose we need to read lips too)
Chowtaitat_Taitat: For a good case study to be an expert to
I do not know how reliable or otherwise relying on eye assessment re liars is, but I do know that some "professional" liars can look you straight in the eye and also by their actions convince the naive that they are telling the absolute truth. Wearas a naturally shy, nervous individual can easily be mistaken for a liar when they are telling the truth. As I mentioned once before you also need to consider age. There were those of a certain age who were brought up with the message "It is rude to stare" drummed into their minds. When talking to others they automatically look away every so often because of that programming, thinking they are being rude.
kohl: I do not know how reliable or otherwise relying on
A lot of rubbish. NLP can help those with phobias/ fears / OCD etc.
This research shows more about the inability of the volunteers to accurately assess whether or not someone is lying. In life a liar has gone to great lengths to ensure they aren't found out and 'research' that plants a lie made up specifically for the purpose of finding out how to find a liar is nothing short of laughable.
Volunteers who "lie" have nothing to lose by being found out. In reality some liars have a great deal to lose and will do almost anything to make sure their lies are not found out.
"A follow-up study involved analysing videos of high-profile press conferences in which people appealed for help in finding missing relatives, or claimed to have been victims of crime. While some were telling the truth, others turned out to be lying.
Again, there was no evidence of a correlation between lying and eye movements."
Now - by definition, liars are good at telling lies so perhaps they might like to consider this when trying to assess the success (or failure) of this research. Good liars who also happen to be volunteers will skew the results. Basic stuff that Prof Wiseman seems to have overlooked in his 'research'.
Daydreamweaver: A lot of rubbish. NLP can help those with phobias/
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PA/Huffington Post UK | Posted: 12/07/2012 06:18 Updated: 12/07/2012 11:24