Don’t Walk Like That, You’re Being Watched – How To Avoid Victimization Through Nonverbal Behavior
Christopher Philip
Are you of the mind that crime is random and perpetrators simply choose victims on the luck of the draw perhaps by being in the wrong place at the wrong time or do you believe that victims are selected because they fit the bill?
Well, a team of researchers led by Angela Book, Brock University, Canada believe that amongst other factors, the nonverbal gait pattern, or the style with which people walk, is a key trait to which those with psychopathy key into.
In earlier research it was found that people scoring higher on aspects of pscychopathy were more accurate at judging victim vulnerability simply based of the way they walked.
This led the researchers down a scary path.
For their experiment, 47 inmates held in a maximum security penitentiary were used as judges of targets vulnerability.
In the study, the inmates were shown short video clips of targets walking and then judged how vulnerable they felt each target was to victimization.
The video clips used in the study consisted of “unsuspecting targets.” These consisted of 8 women and 4 men whom were video taped from behind without their knowledge as they walked from one room to another in order to capture normal gait. The targets were questioned as to whether or not they had been victimized in the past. An event of victimization was described as being equal to or greater than bullying.
The inmates then rated the walkers based on perceived vulnerability on a scale from 1-10. The ratings were considered accurate if they gave the “nonvictims” a score between 1 and 5 and gave the “victims” a score from 6-10.
The results showed that those scoring highest on pscychopathy scored better when judging victim vulnerability.
Open-ended responses of inmates rationalization for victim selection was also coded.
In total 11 main cues were mentioned by the inmates in their selection rationalization including (listed in descending order of frequency):
1) Fitness (ability to fight off a victim)
2) Body Type (in good physical shape or not)
3) Sex (would not mug a woman)
4) Walk/Gait (walks with confidence or not)
5) Attention (not paying attention or walks cautiously)
6) Clothing (expensive clothing or clothing that might make escape easy)
7) Body Posture (body movements not related to gait)
8) Alone
9) Environment (secluded location, not enough light)
10) Age (victim too young)
11) Attractiveness (looks are attractive, she is attractive)
Results as mentioned showed that inmates with higher psychopathy scores were better at determining victims from nonvictims.
The researchers note too, that while many inmates did focus on body language cues, this process may be acting quite subconsciously and play a more significant role than the inmates would have consciously elucidated.
Prior research has also shown that identification of oneself as a victim seems to be influential on body language than is actual history of victimization. Thus, past victimization may in fact boost the frequency with which a victim “acts the part” and so attracts further victimization events.
For example, studies have found that men were more likely to select submissive women as potential victims after viewing short videos. These women tended to use smaller or more subtle hand gestures and foot movements. Dominance on the other hand, tends to be displayed with more expansive gestures.
Other studies have cued into vulnerability in gait included long or short strides, nonlateral weight shifts, gestured versus postural movements, and feet lifting. This was seen as an overall lack of synchronicity in gait.
“Although responsibility for victimization always lies with the perpetrator,” say the researchers in their paper “our findings have implications for the prevention of future and repeated victimization.”
“Targets who displayed vulnerable body language were more likely to report past histories of victimization, and psychopaths identified these individuals as being more vulnerable to future victimization.”
By this reasoning, those individuals whom are at risk for future victimization can be instructed on how to avoid displaying vulnerable body language in order to reduce the likelihood of being selected in the future.
Image Credit: Moyan Brenn
Resources
Angela Book, Kimberly Costello and Joseph A. Camilleri Psychopathy and Victim Selection: The Use of Gait as a Cue to Vulnerability. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2019. 28(11): 2368-2383. DOI: 10.1177/0886260512475315jiv.sagepub.com
Book, A. S., Quinsey, V. L., and Langford, D. Psychopathy and the perception of affect and vulnerability. Criminal Justice and Behavior. 2007. 34, 531-544.
doi:10.1177/0093854806293554
Grayson, B., & Stein, M. I. Attracting assault: Victims’ nonverbal cues. Journal of Communication. 1981. 31: 68-75.
Richards, L., Rollerson, B., & Phillips, J. Perceptions of submissiveness: Implications for victimization. Journal of Psychology. 1991. 125: 407-411.
Wheeler, S., Book, A., & Costello, K. Psychopathic traits and perceptions of victim vulnerability. Criminal Justice and Behavior. 2019. 36, 635-648.
doi:10.1177/0093854809333958