Psycho-Babble Psychology Thread 694338

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is this true??

Posted by karolina on October 12, 2006, at 22:33:00

When you ask a person a question (such as like 'where were you last night', for example) but they look off to the left (and sometimes down) when they answer you - does that really mean that they are lying??

Have any of you heard of this before?

Sorry I know it's a random question!

thanks,

-Karolina-

 

Re: is this true?? » karolina

Posted by mair on October 12, 2006, at 22:43:41

In reply to is this true??, posted by karolina on October 12, 2006, at 22:33:00

If this was true, I'd be lying through most of my therapy sessions. (-; Maybe sometimes it means people are lying and sometimes it may just mean that they feel some discomfort answering the question.

Mair

 

Re: is this true?? » mair

Posted by Pfinstegg on October 12, 2006, at 23:36:04

In reply to Re: is this true?? » karolina, posted by mair on October 12, 2006, at 22:43:41

I learned that we look to the opposite side from the cerebral hemisphere we are predominately using. So, looking to the left means you are mostly using your right hemisphere- your unconscious- and are probably being really truthful.

 

Re: is this true??

Posted by alexandra_k on October 12, 2006, at 23:47:31

In reply to is this true??, posted by karolina on October 12, 2006, at 22:33:00

That is an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) thing to say. Check out NLP on the sceptics dictionary. Basically... We wouldn't need lie detectors (and even they aren't accurate) if it was that easy to tell...

 

Re: is this true?? » karolina

Posted by canadagirl on October 13, 2006, at 7:42:39

In reply to is this true??, posted by karolina on October 12, 2006, at 22:33:00

I've heard it's more about whether the person is a visual, auditory, kinesthetic learner. I think I've heard that if someone is a visual learner, they'll roll their eyes upward when they're thinking; auditory, they put their eyes to the side and maybe head down, etc. Or I could have this mixed up but it's something like that.

 

Re: is this true??

Posted by pegasus on October 13, 2006, at 12:21:49

In reply to is this true??, posted by karolina on October 12, 2006, at 22:33:00

Even if it was generally true, it'd be pretty hard to use. Like, you'd never know whether they were lying or maybe there was something that really attracted their attention in their lower left field of view. Or what if they had something bugging them about their eye that made them tend to look off in that direction. Or the angle of the light makes them look that way. Or if someone else looked over there or they heard a noise they might be trying to figure out what's there. Or a lot of things like that.

p

 

Re: is this true??

Posted by alexandra_k on October 13, 2006, at 14:52:20

In reply to Re: is this true??, posted by pegasus on October 13, 2006, at 12:21:49

http://skepdic.com/neurolin.html

 

Re: is this true??

Posted by karolina on October 17, 2006, at 18:34:23

In reply to is this true??, posted by karolina on October 12, 2006, at 22:33:00

Thanks for the answers you guys. I was asking my boyfriend if he had been seeing anyone while we had been broken up and when he answered, he deliberately looked down and to the left (the answer was 'no')...I had just heard the 'looking down and to the left' thing as a possible sign for lying, but who really knows?! =)

-Karolina-

 

FWIW

Posted by Dinah on October 18, 2006, at 8:20:08

In reply to Re: is this true??, posted by karolina on October 17, 2006, at 18:34:23

I've made a bit of study about this in myself, because I have a natural tilt or turn of my head to my right (the viewer's left) and it's stronger during therapy so that I often leave therapy positively aching from turning my head that direction.

For me eyes down and to my right (the viewer's left) means either that I'm sad or uncomfortable. Eyes neither up nor down and to my right (the viewer's left) means I'm angry. Eyes up and to the left (the viewer's right) means I'm zoning out. (My therapist says I look like I'm watching tiny dancing angels that only I can see.)

Head tilt straight down to my right (viewer's left) so that my ear comes close to my shoulder generally means happy or playful.

Which all leaves me with a crick in my neck. But none of it means I'm lying. I don't often flat out lie, but I think my tell for that might be a rare look straight in the eyes. My husband fibs for fun (to tease) and you can tell because he looks you straight in the eye and tries not to blink.

Incidentally, no matter what position I'm in in bed, I often (especially when stressed) wake up feeling like my right ear has been pressed tighly against my right shoulder.

I guess I'm just naturally right head-tilt.


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