Eye Contact

It is often said that the eyes are the windows to one's soul. In 1905, Sigmund Freud stated, “He that has eyes to see and ears to hear may convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If his lips are silent, he chatters with his fingertips. Betrayal oozes out of him at every pore.” Researchers over the decades have documented that nonverbal behavior carries much communicative power, providing meaning during interpersonal communication. The eyes and the surrounding muscles play a huge role in providing meaning when communicating. It is believed that up to 55 percent of meaning comes from the eyes. Studies over the years have shown that eye contact during a typical conversation ranges from 30 to 60 percent, with longer eye contact indicating stronger interest in either the person or the topic. It is normal as adults to regularly scan interactional partners' eye behavior to receive important information about mood, mental state, confidence, dominance, and credibility. Meaning is conveyed through nonverbal behaviors, including facial expressions and eye contact.

Researchers and practitioners have been interested in the role that eye contact plays in detecting lies for decades. According to Aldert Vrij, a leading deception researcher, to date there is no evidence linking eye contact and eye behaviors to deception. However, there are several theories of deception that incorporate the role of the eyes in lying during interaction. M. Zuckerman's four-factor model of deception, B. M. DePaulo and S. E. Kirkendol's motivational impairment effect, and D. B. Buller and J. K. Burgoon's interpersonal deception theory all include eye behaviors when explaining deception.