"If a person cannot look at you straight in the eye, he's lying," that cliche was actually a lie. It was a long-sounding belief that all people manifest a certain sign of conscience in their bodies when they tell a lie.
In fact, psychopaths, pathological liars and manipulators actually look at you straight to the eye to convince you of what they are saying.
Since such belief circulated in the society, many people used it for their advantage and do the opposite just to get in their favor. What does it mean? If lying people used to avoid eye contact, now they are intentionally doing it to gain your confidence.
This is an ever changing society and no social rule or norm stays the same for a long period of time. You must stay up-to-date to the changes to make sure that no one plays at the top of your game.
What are the physiological signs that e person is lying?
Eye Movement. Yes, they can manipulate their eye externals to look straight in your eyes but they cannot manipulate their eyeball movements while they are thinking.
Take note that these are only cues and not exact science. You should not take this cues objectively. Meaning, it still depends on the context of a conversation or a person's physical condition. A person with an eye defect is an exception.
When asked a question a "normal" right-handed person looks:
- Up and to the Left - it indicates Visually Constructed Images (VC)
If you asked someone to imagine a dog with a pink wagging tail and with a golden teeth, this would be the direction of their eyes while thinking or imagining about the suggested image. In short, this is the direction of their eyes when they created an imaginary image.
- Up and to the Right - it indicates Visually Remembered Images (VR)
If you asked someone about the appearance of their spouse or friend, this would be the direction of their eyes while recalling the image of their spouse or friend. In short, this eye direction happens when they are recalling or remembering something in reality.
- To the Left - it indicates Auditory Constructed (AC)
If you asked someone to imagine the noisiest sound they can ever encounter in the party, this would be the direction their eyes moved in while thinking about the suggestion. In short, this is their eye direction if they are imagining a sound that they never heard yet in actuality.
- To the Right - it indicates Auditory Remembered (AR)
If I ask you to remember the sound of your favorite song, this would be the direction of your eyes movement. This happens every time you remember or recall a sound that you already heard in reality.
- Down and To the Right - it indicates Internal Dialog (AI)
This is the direction of someone eyes as they "talk to themselves."
A left handed-person's eye movement is the opposite of everything else above. This information may be shared or read by many but don't worry, no one can ever manipulate the brain and eye movement connections. Hope this help.