我们的眼睛向别人展示了我们试图隐藏的东西

Study: Our Eyes Show Others What We Try to Hide

The way a person’s eyes move can show whether or not the person recognizes someone else -- even if you try to hide it.

That is what a team of international researchers reported recently.

The finding could be important for criminal investigators¹, who often seek information from uncooperative witnesses or suspects.

Law enforcement officers often turn to lie-detector tests during criminal investigations². But the test results are not always correct.

When asked questions critical to a criminal case, a fast heartbeat or sweaty, sticky hands might make a nervous truth-teller appear to be lying. And, an experienced liar³ might be able to control those signs and avoid suspicion.

Our eyes look at a familiar face differently than they do an unfamiliar⁴ one. When people look at unfamiliar faces, their eyes usually move from one feature -- like the shape of the nose -- to other features. Their eyes stop quickly and often as they try to identify the unknown person.

When looking at a familiar face, people usually direct their attention to just a few features.

Seeking hidden recognition

The researchers wanted to know if people could control their eye movements when attempting to hide the fact that they recognized a face.

Alisa Millen is a psychology⁵ researcher at the University of Stirling in Britain. She led the team that carried out the study.

Millen said, "Humans are experts at familiar face recognition. Recognition of a familiar face is fast and reflexive."

The researchers showed 48 students pictures of both strangers and professors they knew. They asked all of the students to try to appear honest while lying about recognizing familiar faces.

Half of the test subjects were told about a method that might help them hide their recognition. The researchers told those students to stop in the same areas when looking at both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Their eyes would start on the person’s forehead. Next, they looked at each eye, then moved from one ear to the other, then down to the nose, mouth and chin.

In most cases, the students who were given suggestions for how to hide their recognition were not able to do so. When looking at a familiar face, their eyes still stopped for longer periods of time and had fewer stops in the inner parts of the face, the researchers noted⁶.

Millen said that hiding “markers for facial recognition in eye movements is difficult, especially if you know that person well." She added the more the students tried to hide recognition of a face, “the more apparent it was.”

A better way to collect information

Millen hopes that her findings can someday be used in law enforcement. She believes such knowledge could help investigators have a clearer understanding of who is connected to whom in a criminal case.

Deborah Hannula is a psychology professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She was not involved in the study. She said of the research, "It's incredibly important to detect whether someone knows something and isn't willing to reveal that in cases that have high importance, like terrorist investigations."

Hannula and Millen both agree that while the method is promising⁷, it needs a stronger experimental base before it can be used by law enforcement.

Millen noted that she and her team explored only one method of trying to hide recognition. Many other methods could exist, she said. Some might even be more effective.

It is also not yet clear what effect the degree of familiarity has. In order for the method to be used in criminal cases, it needs to be effective for faces that are very familiar as well as only partly familiar.

The research appears in the scientific publication Cognitive⁸ Research: Principles and Implications.

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

familiar - adj. used to say that something is easy for you to recognize because you have seen, heard, or experienced it many times in the past

feature - n. a part of the face (such as the eyes, nose, or mouth)

reflexive - adj. happening or done without thinking as a reaction to something

incredibly - adv. extremely good, great, or large

reveal - v. to make (something) known

detect - v. to discover or notice the presence of (something that is hidden or hard to see, hear, taste, etc.)

degree - n. an amount or level that can be measured or compared to another amount or level

1 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

3 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

4 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

5 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

8 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。