You Can See It In Their Eyes

[ME AGAIN]

My old sergeant, who has retired, used to say that you can't intuitively read anything in a person's eyes. I disagreed with him and said that you can read a lot in a person's eyes: anger, deception, humility, honesty... It's certainly not foolproof, espicially with a pathological liar. I use the "eyes" in all my conversations. Naturally, the rest of the body must be used too: rigidity vs. relaxed posture, ect... but I'm only talking about the eyes right now...

Anybody else pay attention to the eyes?

[Underdog]

I wounldn't say that you can "intuitively" read things in a person's eyes. I think that it is really a set of practiced observation skills.

Some of the obvious things that you can read in a person's eyes are objective symptoms of intoxication. Such symptoms include vertical and horizontal gaze nystagmus, pupil diameter, and reactivity to light.

Although this is somewhat trickier, you can also gain some insight into a person's emotional state. Crying is probably the most obvious indicator of emotional state in this area. Additionally, the fact that a person tends to look away when addressing a certain topic may be an indication that he is uncomfortable with the topic. This may be because he is being dishonest or it may have other causes. Indeed, it may merely be a culturally ingrained response.

Several years ago, I attended an interview and interrogation course in which the instructors expressed the opinion that some people are "neuro-linguistic responders". The idea behind this is that such responders may look in a particular direction (for example, to the left) when recalling the past but may look in a completely different direction (for example, to the right) when fabricating an answer. The theory is that the two activities are sufficiently different as to engage different parts of the brain and, thus, produce different visual indicators of brain activity. Obviously, if you can identify a person as being a neural-linguistic responder, you are well ahead of the game.

I think that the real trick is to be aware of the possible reasons for a person's ocular responses and then to weigh the evidence objectively in light of other available factors. It can be far too easy to be fooled by your own preconceptions.

[This message has been edited by Underdog (edited 11-30-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Underdog (edited 11-30-2000).]

[Mitzi]

I can always tell when my husband is fibbing, usually about where he's going or when he's been. He can't look me in the eys and always looks down at the floor. lol!
I was coming home one night and saw him and some of his buddies going into a topless bar.
I said nothing when he got home and he said, "Poker night was great...I won 20$". Sure enough, he looked away and down when I looked up at him.
I said, "Oh really? Where else did you guys go?" He said, "No where", again looking away and down. I smiled at him and said, "Well, maybe, just maybe you guys went to the Oar House?" He looked up then down and then up and smiled. He said, "How do you always know???" LOL! I'll never tell http://www.officer.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Don]

Of course we look at the eyes when we contact someone. But the big thing to remember, is that the eyes can't kill you.

But the hands sure can! So even if you have patted someone down, even if your doing an interrogation in a holding room, don't forget the hands.

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"Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining". . . Judge Judy
6P1 (retired)

[Niteshift]

Most of the major interview and interrogation courses teach about the eyes. It does work. Some people display it more than other. Some cops read it better than others.

I don't use it as much now as I did as a detective. Now that I'm doing most of my interviews at roadside, I'm looking for problems with their answers as much as anything. I still use the eyes, body, key words etc., but all in one big combo.

The short answer is that yes, they eyes can be a super indicator.



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Niteshift-
Perseverate In Pugna

[Saurus]

Originally posted by ME AGAIN:
My old sergeant, who has retired, used to say that you can't intuitively read anything in a person's eyes. I disagreed with him and said that you can read a lot in a person's eyes: anger, deception, humility, honesty... It's certainly not foolproof, espicially with a pathological liar. I use the "eyes" in all my conversations. Naturally, the rest of the body must be used too: rigidity vs. relaxed posture, ect... but I'm only talking about the eyes right now...Anybody else pay attention to the eyes?

I had people tell me for years that a cop should always watch the hands. Personally - I go with the eyes. With experience, I think you can get a better feel for a contact by watching their eyes. I work security for a professional football club now, and what do you always hear when watching a football game? Right - the q-backs eyes give his intentions away every time.


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Bruce
NYPD, retired
http://www.geocities.com/bemmott

[movista]

God has granted me the Gift of Discernment. All I have to do is be around a person to know what kind of person he/she is. I really can't explain it further...I just know. I (God working through me actually) have NEVER been wrong. That Gift saved my life, in fact. When I knocked on the door my Spirit told me that death is on the other side of it...I drew my weapon a couple of seconds before the door was opened by a nut with a sawed-off. I went home to my family that night....Glory to The King...but, sadly, the nut didn't.

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Peace is not the absence of conflict, it is the presence of justice.

[ME AGAIN]

Well bless God! I'm glad to hear that! http://www.officer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif