# Resolved: Body Language is an awful way of judging reliability and truthfulness **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 4, 2023, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620 "2023-09-04T23:30:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/21 "2023-09-05T15:46:12Z")
Very often when a person is just starting a story that is not true they will touch the corner of their eye or sometimes an ear lobe. They will not do it again for the remainder of the story but if you see someone touch their eye at the beginning of a story there is a good chance it is not true. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/22 "2023-09-05T16:04:43Z")
I have, too, and while I started out believing in it, I find it pretty much useless beyond the inferences a lay person would make from analyzing another’s handwriting. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/23 "2023-09-05T16:13:40Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Very often when a person is just starting a story that is not true they will touch the corner of their eye or sometimes an ear lobe. They will not do it again for the remainder of the story but if you see someone touch their eye at the beginning of a story there is a good chance it is not true. Isn’t there a good chance the story is not true if they don’t touch their ear lobe or the corner of their eye? Watch out for confirmation bias with such means, even if you catch someone lying with this method you’ve probably missed just as many liars who didn’t exhibit this behavior, and you could end up disbelieving a true story for no reason. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/24 "2023-09-05T16:27:26Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Isn’t there a good chance the story is not true if they don’t touch their ear lobe or the corner of their eye? Watch out for confirmation bias with such means, even if you catch someone lying with this method you’ve probably missed just as many liars who didn’t exhibit this behavior, and you could end up disbelieving a true story for no reason. Of course, it is just one indicator to be aware of that seems extremely common. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/25 "2023-09-05T20:25:52Z")
That’s great. I’m constantly touching the corner of my eye, to make sure my contact lens is sitting properly. Nice to know that I’m marked for life. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/26 "2023-09-05T21:05:54Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Very often when a person is just starting a story that is not true they will touch the corner of their eye or sometimes an ear lobe. They will not do it again for the remainder of the story but if you see someone touch their eye at the beginning of a story there is a good chance it is not true. Leos and Scorpios do this, sure, but it is much less common for anyone with a water sign. Speaking of water, you also have to ask if the person is a dowser, because if they are, they might just be detecting a nearby copper wire. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/27 "2023-09-05T21:13:17Z")
In one of his books, Malcolm Gladwell calls this “the _Friends_ problem”. In that sitcom, it was always obvious what everyone was thinking; their expressions and body language were exaggerated to make them clear. Whereas in the real world people are much subtler. The point is that people think they understand a stranger from what they see, but they really don’t. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/28 "2023-09-05T21:46:29Z")
It brings to mind Lindy Chamberlain (“A dingo got my baby”) who was wrongfully convicted of murdering her infant and spent years in jail because jurors felt she didn’t seem sad enough on the stand. People just don’t act the way we think they should. Trying to maintain their composure comes across as being untruthful. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/29 "2023-09-05T21:51:29Z")
The most truthful person I know touches her eyes, fiddles with her earrings and rubs her chin. I don’t believe you can count on that as a lie predictor. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/30 "2023-09-05T22:43:21Z")
Well, then, how do you test these methods? You say that you know they work… How do you know? Usually, when someone has a method of knowing something that someone else is trying to hide, and they’re highly confident in the success of their method, it turns out to be because they’re just comparing the method to itself: “He used this posture, and so I thought he was lying. And I was right: He was in fact lying, so I’ll count that as a success of my method. How do I know he was actually lying? Well, he used that posture, and my method (which I’m now even more confident in) says that anyone using that posture is lying”. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/31 "2023-09-05T22:48:08Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Very often when a person is just starting a story that is not true they will touch the corner of their eye or sometimes an ear lobe. They will not do it again for the remainder of the story but if you see someone touch their eye at the beginning of a story there is a good chance it is not true. Do you have any reputable research cites to support that this happens “very often” when someone is lying, and that such body language means that “there is a good chance it is not true”? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2023, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/32 "2023-09-05T23:09:55Z")
I take part in investigations at work as well as interviewing candidates for positions and I don’t rely on body language. I’d be hard pressed to tell an EEOC investigator I didn’t hire a candidate because he had a limp handshake and wouldn’t look me in the eyes. I’d hopefully have something a bit more concrete. And it’s the same with a employee relations investigation. I can’t very well tell my boss, “George was sweating profously and his eyes kept darting back and forth every time I asked him about his conversations with Sally. Obviously the dude was lying his butt off the entire time.” In my experience, it’s almost always what a person says during an interview that runs them into trouble. During ER investigations, I’ve found people whose stories change in substantial ways as they were unable to keep their lies straight or I’ve found (sometimes multiple) witnesses whose account differed greatly. For job interviews, I’ve run into people who couldn’t answer basic questions about topics their resume indicated they had years of experience in. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/33 "2023-09-06T17:18:26Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Leos and Scorpios do this, sure, but it is much less common for anyone with a water sign. Scorpio is a water sign. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/34 "2023-09-06T17:44:36Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Scorpio is a water sign. oh shit maybe my post isn’t totally rational. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/35 "2023-09-06T17:48:11Z")
Or maybe I’m not completely rational because I know what element an astrological sign belongs to. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/36 "2023-09-06T17:49:35Z")
By your body language I can tell that you’re rational. Assuming you’re a Scorpio, and not a water sign. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/37 "2023-09-06T17:52:26Z")
So far there’s been no contraindication that Leo is a water sign or that Leos are often lying. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/38 "2023-09-06T17:56:48Z")
Snerk. Just shows how bad body language reading really is. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/39 "2023-09-06T17:57:34Z")
…and _scene_! ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2023, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620/40 "2023-09-06T18:10:59Z")
Leo is a fire sign! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/resolved-body-language-is-an-awful-way-of-judging-reliability-and-truthfulness/989620.md?page=3)