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Body Language of Women and Judgments of Vulnerability to Sexual Assault
Article first published online: 31 JUL 2006
DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1996.tb00088.x
1559-1816/asset/cover.gif?v=1&s=14dd6984982738749ebbe29363a927e201c5bb57 "Journal of Applied Social Psychology")
Additional Information
How to Cite
Murzynski, J. and Degelman, D. (1996), Body Language of Women and Judgments of Vulnerability to Sexual Assault. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 26: 1617–1626. doi: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1996.tb00088.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 31 JUL 2006
- Article first published online: 31 JUL 2006
- Abstract
- References
- Cited By
The present study experimentally examined the effects of body language on judgments of vulnerability to sexual assault by strangers. Four features of body language (stride length, weight shift, body-limb movement, and foot movement) were manipulated to create 2 typical victim profiles and 1 typical nonvictim profile. Short videotapes of 3 adult female models walking alone in each of the 3 body language profiles were filmed. Forty-one college students and 33 police officers individually viewed 3 videotapes (each showing a different model and a different body language profile) and made judgments for each about the woman's confidence level and vulnerability to sexual assault. As predicted, women in the 2 victim profiles were judged to be significantly more vulnerable to sexual assault and significantly less confident than women in the nonvictim profile. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.