by Jonathan List

Created on: September 26, 2009   Last Updated: September 27, 2009

The first thing that you need to understand is that watching a suspects eyes for evidence of a lie is not a fool-proof endeavor. The mental experts will tell you that someone looking left is accessing the creative centers of their brain and someone looking right is accessing the memory centers of their brain. Unfortunately this tendency is impacted by the theory of hemesphericity. Most people have their brains associated in a specific manner; the right side of the brain engenders creativity and the left side stores memories. This results in the tendency of people to look one way for specific types of mental processes. The problem lies in the fact that some people's brains are reversed from this, so their eyes will tell the opposite story of their intentions.

Further more, many people can train themselves to not betray their intentions. It is no small feat to train oneself to avoid looking left when someone is lying, but it is possible. So what, then, do you look for when you are attempting to detect a lie?

Eye movement. Generally, people will mask their eye movements if they are experienced liars. The most obvious tell is when someone darts their eyes away for one or two phrases. Expert liars know that the best lies always contain an amount of truth, so they will always work to keep as close to the truth as possible. These individuals do not know how much you already know, so they will avoid making up facts that are irrelevant, while attempting to include as many details as possible.

If, for example, Tommy broke the window, he might tell you all about the game of baseball he and his friends were playing, but might indicate that he was in the outfield when the window was broken. When he says the phrase, "in the outfield," you will notice his eyes will dart away from the previous point of contact. If he was looking at the window, he might look at you when he lies. If he was looking at you, he might look at the window. This eye movement seems to be very important in definitive lies.

On the other hand, it is also important to note that someone who does not break eye contact with you is also probably lying. I know this sounds irrational, but examine this for a second. When was the last time you managed to maintain eye contact with someone without forcing the issue. Humans naturally look at their surroundings during conversations. These are not the furtive looks of a man trying to get out of something, but the natural wanderings of the eye. If one is maintaining constant eye contact, he is then attempting to tell you a tall tale.

The best thing you can do to determine whether a person is lying is to watch their eyes as you ask questions. If you ask a question, and the suspect avoids all eye contact ask more questions along the same line. Also, if you notice that the suspect breaks eye contact at specific points in the explanation, continue your questions. Liars have a tendency to create complex systems of falsehoods, a system that falls apart quickly when examined closely.

While a person's eyes do not give the complete answer when searching for a lie, they are an important tool in uncovering the truth. The more you get to know the suspect and his behaviors, the more likely you are to be able to identify his lies.

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