Consider a person’s temperament before rushing to any judgment on their emotions. If a friend or family member is naturally critical and pessimistic, they might narrow their eyes a lot more often.
The ability to understand and discern basic facial expressions can give you a leg up in future conversations. Take note of which expressions are closed off and which expressions are more open. While surprise and fear create a more open expression, emotions like contempt, anger, and sadness are much more closed off.
Keep in mind that squinting can also mean that they have poor vision, it’s too bright out, or they might have something in their eyes. In the middle of a conversation, take a mental inventory to figure out how your actions are being perceived. Are your own words and body language inspiring suspicion and negativity in another person?
While commonly associated with romance, arousal can refer to a lot of different emotions. If you witness or hear about something disturbing, your pupils might dilate due to a fear-based arousal. It all depends on the situation!
For instance, if you sneak up on your friend, they might widen their eyes due to a sudden feeling of fear. Their eyes might also widen from the joy and surprise of unexpectedly seeing you. If someone does or witnesses something mildly embarrassing in public, they might widen their eyes as an uncomfortable reaction.
For instance, if a coworker asks you to cover their shift, they might stare at you to intimidate you into agreeing.
For example, you could be talking to your friend about some missing money when you notice that they’re constantly looking away, or refusing to meet your gaze. While this doesn’t necessarily indicate guilt, it could mean that your friend has something to hide—or at the very least, that they’re nervous. However, this isn’t always true; people from Eastern cultures and people with certain disabilities may prefer to avoid eye contact in everyday conversation.
Keep the individual in mind during the conversation. Excessive blinking could easily be caused by an allergy or an errant speck of dust, so just jump to any irrational conclusions.
Of course, this isn’t a perfect indicator.
The idea that looking to the right or left can tell you whether someone is lying has been debunked. There’s no correlation between eye direction and lying. [10] X Research source [11] X Research source Eye contact isn’t considered respectful in all cultures. Someone from a different culture may politely avoid looking at your eyes. People with disabilities such as ADHD and autism may have different body language. They might avoid eye contact and fidget as part of their natural body language. Autistic people may stare into space while listening intently; their eye direction doesn’t always indicate their attention. [12] X Research source Avoid accusing them of lying or inattention when they’re just neurodivergent.
Some people don’t display their emotions as obviously, so their eyebrows might not be a great way to read emotions.
From a biological standpoint, lifting your eyebrows and eyelids helps your eyes to take in more light. In dangerous situations, this can help a person to be more aware of their surroundings. Wide eyes are a common but accurate stereotype of a fearful expression.
Look for crows feet along the outer corner of the eye, just below the eyebrows.
A person’s eyebrows aren’t a foolproof way to assume or declare guilt. However, they can sometimes let you know if an individual is being deceptive.
