Attracting An Assault?!


 


I thought I'd share something interesting about how criminals, predator's, thugs and bullies profile their victims. 


Remember I told you the other day, that I was listening to one of Jocko Willink's podcasts? 

He was talking about this subject and refenced some research old and newer. 


~The 1982 study Attracting Assault: Victims' Nonverbal Cues by Grayson / Stein
~Marked by Mayhem - Psychology Today by Hustmyre & Dixit, 1/1/09


Well, I revisited that research and something interesting stuck out like a fart in study hall.

Something we talk about all the time at the academy and when I teach seminars and workshops. 

Organization.

As in being in Kamae.

What?!

You know being wholistically organized.

Here's what Grayson and Stein had to say (paraphrased):

The prime difference between perceived victim and non-victim groups revolves around "wholeness" or consistency of movement. Non-victims have an organized quality about their movements. They function comfortably within context of their own bodies. 

In contrast, victims movements seemed to communicate inconsistency and dissonance. 

Huh, you don't say... Interesting.


Psychology Today


Hustmyre & Dixit's Psychology Today article goes on to site convenience plays a large role in being targeted. Part of this convenience deals largely with perceived vulnerability and the target being distracted. 

Some people think talking on a cell phone enhances their safety because the other person can always summon help if there's trouble—but experts disagree (including yours truly!). 

Talking on a phone or listening to an iPod is a distraction. Not paying attention, looking like a tourist—having the map out, looking confused—absolutely makes people more vulnerable,

As you may guess Awareness also plays a huge factor in their process:

Women who are the victims of rape tend to be less able than average to interpret nonverbal facial cues—which may render them oblivious to the warning signs of hostile intent and more likely to enter or stay in dangerous situations.

Researchers also found that rapists tend to be more able than average to interpret facial cues, such as a downward gaze or a fearful expression. It's possible this skill makes rapists especially able to spot passive, submissive women. One study even showed that rapists are more empathetic toward women than other criminals—although they have a distinct empathy gap when it comes to their own victims. A highly attuned rapist and a woman who's oblivious to hostile body language make a dangerous combination.

...And 

I could go into greater detail about what the research said, but I won't. However, I highly recommend that you read the articles yourself. There are a lot of good specific details in there. 

Here are links:

Attracting Assault: Victims' Nonverbal Cues pdf:

Marked For Mayhem: 


The gist of this reflects my typical advice - Level 1 PeaceWalker material:

Be a tough target:

~ Look confident
~ Don't look distracted
~ Pay attention to your surroundings
~ Don't hangout in areas that are conducive for crimes 


Ok, That's It!?

Yep...

If you haven't checked out my podcast in a while here's the link:

Have a good one...


Keep going,
~Craig

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

An Uncomfortable Situation

Image
  Funny pic (and movie) about a not so funny situation… In training as in Life, it’s better to treat people with dignity and respect. However… What does that look like in the moment? Being that I’m teaching a Women’s Assault Prevention and Response Workshop this weekend - it’s probably a good time to talk about… Uncomfortable Situations Let’s talk about training at the academy for a minute… We run open co-ed classes at the local academy. What does that mean? Men and women train together, but we don’t stop there. People of different skill levels, backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, careers, religious beliefs, political affiliations, ages, injuries, pre-existing conditions, life experience, training expectations etc. etc. train together! We ALL work together! Overall, I think it’s better this way. Of course sometimes there’s static, you know, conflicts, and misunderstanding. When something happens, most of the time it’s just that, a misunderstanding… Sometimes people ...
Read more

What'd You Say?!

Image
  You ever have a conversation with someone who really lifted your spirits? How about having a conversation with someone who’s a real downer?! We spend a lot of time talking to people. Matter of fact, talking is one of the most under rated and under trained aspects of protecting yourself. It’s much better if you can talk your way out of a bad situation, rather than having to resort to some form of physicality. This is why we spend so much time on sharing effective communication frameworks in the PeaceWalker course. But All of that Aside… When we think about communicating, we often just think about talking to other people. We forget how we talk to ourselves! You may have heard it called, “Self talk.” All day long we talk to ourselves. We carry on an inner dialogue in our heads that only we can hear. Unfortunately, this means it's very easy to be hard on ourselves. There's something about privacy which makes it easy to say the things you would never say out loud to another living...
Read more

Cracks in Your Foundation?!

Image
  Last night we had one of our weekly coaching calls for the PeaceWalker Evolution Course. What a great call! Rob and Jenn, a couple of the Level II - Momentum folks (people who graduated from Evolution last year and came back for the second Level.), were tasked to run the meeting as part of their training. I must say, they did a stand up job! The topic of discussion was building an Unshakable Foundation. WTH is that!? It’s basically the way you live. Your habits. What you do in your day to day life. How do you train your… Body  - Your physical health Mind  - What you’re filling your head with Mouth  - How you’re communicating Heart  - How you foster your relationships Why?! Without a solid foundation it’s difficult to remain balanced. When you are not balanced, it more difficult to stay calm, cool, and collected, (especially) under pressure. As I often say,  “You can’t hide crazy.” (It eventually comes out!) Regardless… You don’t have to be in the PeaceWal...
Read more