Walking At The Speed of Love (or Friendship) – How To Read His Walking Pace For Romance
Jenny Galvao
According to research by Janelle Wagnild of Seattle Pacific University and Cara Wall-Scheffler of the University of Washington, the speed at which one walks is altered by our company, be it a group of friends, or a romantic partner.
Men tend to have a faster walking pace than women. In fact, men actually decrease the pace at which they walk by about 7% when walking with women with whom they are in romantic relationships with.
“Men only slowed down to walk as slowly as women when they were in love with the women — when they were holding hands they walked even slower,” say the researchers.
This might not seem significant, but altering walking speed to conform to another person presents an “energetic dilemma.” In other words, it’s costly for men to walk slower or faster than they would otherwise. This presents some interesting situations for same-sex as well as differing-sex walking groups.
In this study, single participants of both genders as well as couples were asked to walk one lap around a track, at any pace they desired. By using a stopwatch for each quarter lap, an average speed was determined for each participant. The participants then walked alone, with a partner, and finally, they walked while holding hands with their partner.
The results highlighted that men nearly always matched the walking speed that was preferred by their female partners. In fact, the men slowed down even more so when holding hands with their significant others.
The researchers have, therefore, found that it is men who are the ones to compromise in romantic situations.
With opposite-sex friends, on the other hand, the women sped up slightly and the men slowed down slightly, showing a mutual compromise. In same-sex friend groups, men walking with men walked faster, indicating possible feelings of competitiveness. Women walking with women walked slower, which points to a more relaxed feeling, and also perhaps to permit more communication.
This shows that men are the ones to make sure that women feel comfortable when walking with them, and they do this by matching the woman’s preferred walking pace rather than forcing her to lag behind or match their own speed. Women walking together slow their pace presumably because they felt closer to their female counterparts and likely wished to socialize. In contrast, men sped up with other men because they didn’t report feeling particularly close to their male walking partner and didn’t feel the need to saunter or converse.
Even small cues such as a walking pace can help provide clues to the type of relationship being developed. If women find that their male walking partner maintains their fast pace forcing them to speed up, then it’s likely that he is not experiencing any romantic interest. However, if he slows down to match the woman’s pace, then he’s probably willing to take on more than just friendship. While it might seem like a small price, as the energetic costs to slowing down are low, it can be a sign of bigger things to come.
This study is just one of many that demonstrates how body language cues can provide deeper meaning that the words spoken.
About the Author: Jenny Galvao is an undergraduate student at the University of Guelph studying psychology.
Resources
Wagnild J, Wall-Scheffler C.M. Energetic Consequences of Human Sociality: Walking Speed Choices among Friendly Dyads. PLoS ONE. 2019. 8(10): e76576. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076576