NCJ Number
95452
Journal
Journal of Communication Volume: 31 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1981) Pages: 68-75
Date Published
1981
Length
8 pages
Annotation
More than 60 randomly selected persons were videotaped as they walked through one of the highest assault areas in New York City, and their assault inmates at a large Northeastern facility. The men, chosen for their general intelligence and verbal ability, were selected from a group of criminals convicted of assault against strangers. These prisoners descriptively evaluated each of the videotaped individuals, and their evaluations were used to establish a rating scale for use by a second group of inmates who acted as respondents. This second group consisted of 53 inmates convicted of assaultive crimes ranging from murder to simple assault on strangers. Both groups of inmates rated older men and women as more likely assault targets than younger men and women. To determine what movements differentiated victims from nonvictims, the videotapes were analyzed using a Labanalysis code and appropriate statistical analyses. The primary difference between perceived victims and nonvictims revolved around a 'wholeness' or consistency of movement. Nonvictims had an organized quality about their body movements. Perceived victims were nonsynchronous or antisynchronous in their movements. Eighteen references are included.