7 Psychological 'Tricks' That Are Total Bullsh*t

7. Looking To The Left Means The Person Is Lying

There are a range of variations on this theme, but the general gist is that you can tell what a person is think by the direction that their eyes flick off to. The idea behind the "left means lying" myth is that the eyes dart left when trying to "construct" something and the eyes dart right when trying to "remember" something.

This is, of course, a load of dingo's kidneys.

It is true that a person will look away from you when they are trying to figure out or remember something, but this is because looking at a human face is too distracting to the brain, which is programmed to constantly try to read and decode any human face it catches sight of.

There is evidence to suggest that gaze aversion helps improve concentration, particularly in young children. So if you really want your kids to do well, get them to look away from you when they're answering difficult questions.