If you pay attention, when you ask someone a question, especially if it is complicated and they have to reflect on the answer, you will notice that they either close their eyes or look at the sky. These gestures do not respond to a whim nor do they indicate that they are lying to us. Quite the contrary, this involuntary gesture does not indicate anything bad. Keep reading this article and discover why do we look up when we think.
Contrary to what it may seem, this gesture does not indicate that a lie is being prepared, but rather it indicates that the brain is looking for information necessary to answer the question we have asked.
Information enters our brain through the senses. Each type of recorded information is saved in the corresponding file and it is in them where our brain searches to remember or answer questions. Looking at the sky does not mean waiting for the gods to offer us the correct answer, but rather we are visualizing the possible answer to the question.
Furthermore, the brain also does this because in the sky there are usually less stimuli that at eye level, which favors concentration and the thought process. If, on the other hand, what we do is talk to ourselves, asking ourselves, for example, if we should answer that question, our eyes will immediately look down and to the right.
If sounds are involved in the response, our eyes move horizontally to the right or left, as if we were looking at our ears.
If we are evaluating whether the question our interlocutor has asked us is logical or we are trying to remember a recent experience, our eyes will look up to the right.
If we close our eyes, it means that we need great concentration to answer the question, and we are focusing on thinking and avoiding external stimuli. In any case, once the thought process has finished, our eyes will automatically return to our interlocutor. Of course, all these processes last milliseconds and therefore go almost unnoticed in our conversation.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.