Reading someone's eyes: is it possible?

Be able to read the eyes of any person, woman or man, has been one of those powers that have been popularly attributed to psychologists.

Although the idea that by observing someone's gaze you may be able to know what he thinks is totally false and based on a exaggeration, the truth is that the signals sent by non-verbal language are very useful to know certain things about the emotional state of the the rest.

Now... how is it possible to get to know better what happens in the mind of a person from the observation of their eyes? Let's see.

• Related article: "The power of looking into each other's eyes: playing with the laws of attraction"

Communicating through the eyes

When we converse with someone face-to-face, a good deal of our attention is focused on that person's eyes, even if we don't realize it. In normal situations, our gaze is focused on each other's eyes for more than a third of the time that we spend talking, as long as we have that person in front of us and looking in our direction.

This indicates, among other things, that the eyes have great expressive power, in part because the muscles that intervene in its movement and in that of the adjacent areas reflect the state of emotional activation that marks each moment. We have evolved so that a small and almost imperceptible millimeter movement is a message that let us know what happens to the other without generating any noise. But, in addition, we are able to take advantage of this fact to empower it and learn more about the others.

• Related article: "The 5 practical keys to mastering non-verbal language"

Read the eyes of women and men

The first thing to be clear about is that, although there are certain psychological differences between men and women in statistical terms, they do not exist when reading someone's eyes. Why? Among other things, because when it comes to experiencing emotions and responding to them, all human beings are quite similar.

The muscles that control eye movement and the adjacent areas do not move following patterns that show in detail what is thought, but in any case express sensations and emotions in the most basic sense. Thus, these small differences in the thinking styles of both sexes are not reflected in the look. Reading a woman's eyes is not significantly different from doing it with any other kind of person, for example.

If you are interested in knowing more details about the basic keys to reading the gaze, below you can find the main ones.

1. Brow lift

A brow lift that is not exaggerated indicates that the person pays more attention to controlling the way you communicate and that, somehow, he tries to "take the helm" of his expressiveness in a semi-conscious way. However, if the movement is exaggerated this indicates distancing.

2. Dilation and contraction of the pupils

People cannot voluntarily control whether their pupils dilate or contract. This movement can be produced by many variables, such as the lack or excess of light; However, it has been seen that it also influences if you see something or someone that is interesting or attractive, in which case they open more.

3. Avoid looking into the eyes

There are two psychological aspects that can be indicated by a refusal to look the other in the eye. If this is done by keeping your gaze down or by flicking your eyes from side to side, it's a sign of insecurity.

On the other hand, if the gaze is kept averted but neither looks down nor quickly sweeps the surroundings, this is a sign of a feeling of superiority and dominance over the other person.

• You may be interested: "Why is it sometimes difficult to look someone in the eye?"

4. The number of blinks

Blinks accurately reflect the degree of activation of a person's brain. Someone who is feeling very nervous blinks more, and someone who you are attracted to the person you are interacting with, also, since your mind is doing many operations at the same time.

5. Squint your eyes

This sign indicates distancing and an emotional state linked to a defensive attitude. For example, it can signal disbelief or the anticipation of an attack.

6. The time elapsed during eye contact

Not only do you have to look at the contraction of the eye muscles: it is also good to take into account the time factor. That is why it is relevant to know how much time is spent maintaining eye contact with someone.

If you spend a long time staring into the other person's eyes, this indicates willingness that there is a symmetrical exchange of information both sides. On the other hand, if someone makes less eye contact, this may indicate that they are hiding something and that they prefer not to offer vulnerable sides by which they can be "attacked".