When someone is telling you a lie, they will often find it difficult to look you directly in the eye. To avoid eye contact they may rub their eyes. Men will rub their eyes briskly or look down when lying. Women are more likely to rub below their eyes or stare up whilst lying.
The eyes: Someone who is lying might stare or look away at a crucial moment, says Glass — a possible sign they're moving their eyes around as they try to think about what to say next. The research conducted by Geiselman at UCLA corroborated this, finding that people sometimes look away briefly when lying.
Study the eyes
Researchers say no. Science shows that liars do not avoid eye contact any more frequently than those telling the truth. The key thing to look for in eye movement is deviation from their baseline.
Watch facial expressions When people are in the middle of a lie their facial expressions may show you. Look for flared nostrils, lip biting, rapid blinking or sweating. These changes in facial activity signify an increase in brain activity as a lie begins.
Tightened jaw and forehead
Liars also tend to tense up when they're not being truthful, and this can include tightening the jaw and forehead. Both are connected to the "mental effort and stress" associated with telling a lie, according to Wenner.
For example, when confronted about something, they may reply with a murky statement such as "Would I do such a thing?" or even "I wouldn't do such a thing," rather than a straightforward "I didn't do it." Another indication of deception is using unnecessary words in a statement that make its meaning less clear.
The direction of their eyes: A 2012 study published in Plos One debunked the myth people look to the left when lying. A study by the University of Michigan found when participants lied, they maintained eye contact 70% of the time.
The one most frequently associated with lying was a high intensity version of the so-called Duchenne smile involving both cheek/eye and mouth muscles. This is consistent with the “Duping Delight” theory that “when you're fooling someone, you tend to take delight in it,” Sen explained.
In line with this assumption, previous studies have shown that lying is associated with greater pupil dilation, a behavioral cue that typically manifests itself under conditions of stress or cognitive effort. In accordance with these results, we predicted greater pupil dilation when lying than when telling the truth.
Covering Their Mouth or Eyes
According to former CIA officers in their book Spy the Lie, others may even completely close their eyes when telling a lie, as reported in Parade Magazine. This could be especially true when it's in response to a question that does not require a lot of reflection.
Looking to the right and down while speaking signifies selfdoubt, whereas looking right and straight/up signifies lying. Looking to the right activates imagination and left activates memory. 4. Eye-contact. When speaking, this could mean the person is being honest in his speech.
It means if you try to see the world as it really is, rather than believing things because you want them to be true (for example), you will spot deception more easily.
There are many signs someone could be lying. For example, one may make too little or too much eye contact, sweat or flush in their face, fidget or enact unusual gestures, have trouble maintaining normal speech patterns, and have difficulty controlling the volume and tone of their voice.
A review of studies on the perception of speech cues to lying delineates a stereotypical image of a liar. Listeners expect liars to speak more slowly, pause longer, and speak with a higher pitched voice.
The narcissistic liar
This type of person never admits to making a mistake, even when the mistake could be a growth opportunity for your PR team. He or she is often a "people person" seeking attention when things go right, bragging or exaggerating accomplishments, while being quick to place blame and criticize others.
When a person lies, he or she tends to look away from the person being lied to. Thus, the liar feels a tendency to rub one's eye to block the sight of the other person. This is again one of the acts that hints the person being a liar.
Becoming angry and defensive
If they feel that someone closes in on their lies and raises questions, liars tend to get angry and defensive. Even if no one is outright accusing them, they have an overblown reaction due to their fear of being caught.
Fear microexpressions: Microexpressions are brief, involuntary facial expressions that give away a person's true emotions. Liars are often afraid of being caught, so they may express fear through small movements, like raising their eyebrows or wrinkling their forehead.
Another sign: When someone is lying, they're unable to activate muscles that draw the inner eyebrows together and upwards, says Porter. Instead, they're only able to raise their eyebrows and forehead, so they looked surprised.