What A Person's Feet Disclose About Their Honesty

Today, it's likely you've already been lied to at least 10 times, though it could be that number is closer to 200. As Pamela Meyer, author of "Lie Spotting" notes in her 2011 Ted Talk — a video which has amassed well over 22 million views on YouTube in the years since its release — "Lying is an attempt to bridge that gap, to connect our wishes and our fantasies about who we wish we were, how we wish we could be, with what we're really like." As the author goes on to explain, women lie more to protect others, whereas men lie about themselves. Shockingly, "Strangers [lie] three times within the first 10 minutes of meeting each other."

Though most lies are harmless — fibs to get out of commitments, pretending you like your friend's new clogs — others have greater consequences, and not just for the person being lied to. As Dr. Deidre Lee Fitzgerald, assistant professor of psychology at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, tells Everyday Health, "Research has linked telling lies to an increased risk of cancer, increased risk of obesity, anxiety, depression, addiction, gambling, poor work satisfaction, and poor relationships."

Ultimately, when you can't trust someone's words, you can always read their body language. Specifically, a person's feet are a tell-tale indicator of honesty.

Sure, the eyes are the window to the soul. But the lower half of the body can be an even more effective tell when gauging dishonesty. "Your legs are the largest area of your body," University of Massachusetts professor Susan Whitbourne explains to Business Insider India, adding, "so when they move, it's pretty hard for others not to notice." According to Forbes, our legs — and, by extension, our feet — are intrinsically linked to the survival mechanism we call "fight or flight." They allow us to run away from dangerous situations — 15,000 years ago, that might have meant escaping a hungry lion; today, it could mean something as simple as attending a party full of strangers. Foot tapping has been linked to that millennia-old "flight" response.

With this in mind, Texas-based therapist Rachel Eddins, LPC, has pointers for spotting dishonesty. "[The liar] might be constantly moving their feet, or trying to leave the conversation as quickly as possible," she explains to Best Life, adding, "Swaying is also a result of feeling uneasy, which happens when telling a lie." As psychotherapist James Miller tells the site, "Most people are good at monitoring their facial expressions, but most people don't realize that the farther away the extremity is from one's brain, the less we are mindful of what it does." For most, lying results in anxiety, and anxiety manifests itself in the form of tapping feet and legs.

Rather than rely on body language, the best way to tell if someone likes you is to ask. However, if you're not quite at the stage where you feel comfortable asking your crush the important questions, you can also look to the ground for answers. "Feet typically point in the direction they want to go, so if someone's feet are pointed toward you, that's good. If they're pointed away from you, that's bad," Judy Dutton, author of "How We Do It: How the Science of Sex Can Make You a Better Lover," informs Marie Claire (later quoted by Bustle). As the author goes on to add, "If someone's feet are pointed in toward each other, that 'pigeon toes' stance is actually a good sign, since it's a subconscious attempt to shrink in size and appear harmless, approachable ... which may very well mean someone likes you, a lot." It's also indicative of honesty.

Body language expert Patti Wood puts it this way: "There are windows all over your [sic] body. At your eyes, at your [sic] neck, your heart, the palm of the hands, your knees, and the bottoms of your [sic] feet." As she notes to Elite Daily, if their body language is open — like a window — that demonstrates their interest.