People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast Can eye direction reveal a lie? Or is that psychology bullshit? | with Tim Levine
May 27, 2025
Tim Levine, a prominent deception researcher and author of 'Duped,' dives into the myths surrounding eye direction and deception detection. He debunks the popular belief that eye movements can reveal lies, offering insights from his extensive lab studies. Levine emphasizes the challenges of detecting deception and the importance of context, memory, and individual differences. He critiques the behavior analysis space's reliance on dubious claims and promotes evidence-based approaches instead. Prepare for a reality check on the science of truthfulness!
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Eye Direction Claims Lack Evidence
- The popular NLP claim that eye direction reveals recall versus construction lacks empirical support across populations.
- Tim Levine and Zach Elwood stress numerous studies found no useful correlation between eye movements and deception.
Big Data Fails To Find Eye Patterns
- Large datasets would reveal strong correlations if they existed, yet Levine's 485 taped interviews show virtually no consistent eye-pattern link to lying.
- He concludes any population-level eye-direction effect is either tiny or nonexistent and not practically useful.
Personal Examples Show Idiosyncrasy
- Tim Levine recounts his dataset where only one liar showed the classic 'up-right' eye move and that case had confounds.
- He also mentions his wife reliably looks up when recalling, showing idiosyncratic patterns exist.