TORSO TIPS
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BOX 20: WILY OR WEIRD? Years ago I was stationed in the New York office of the FBI. During my tenure there, I had numerous opportunities to ride the trains and subways in and out of the city. It didn’t take long to recognize the many different techniques people used to claim territory while on public transport. It seemed there was always someone who sat on the seat but whose body would sway from side to side so as to impose on others or whose arms would flail wildly at times while holding one of the straps. These individuals always seemed to possess more space around them because no one wanted to get near them. When forced to sit or stand next to these “weirdos,” people would lean at the torso as far as possible so as not to come in contact with them. You have to ride the subways in New York to appreciate this. I am convinced that some passengers purposely acted strangely and exaggerated their body movements to keep people at a distance, away from their torsos. In fact, a long-time resident of New York once told me, “If you want to keep the hordes at bay, act like you’re nuts!” Perhaps he was right.
they waited for their friends to finish examining the display. Their brains were, saying, “I can’t handle this,” and so their bodies turned away. The human species has evolved to the point that not only physical proximity to a person we dislike can cause us to lean away, but even images of unpleasant things, such as photographs, can cause a torso lean. As a careful observer of human behavior, you need to be aware that distancing sometimes takes place abruptly or very subtly; a mere shifting of body angle of just a few degrees is enough to express negative sentiment. For example, couples who are pulling apart emotionally will also begin to pull apart physically. Their hands don’t touch as much, and their torsos actually avoid each other. When they sit side by side, they will lean away from each other. They create a silent space between them, and when they are forced to sit next to each other, such as in the back of an automobile, they will only rotate toward each other with their heads, not their bodies.