Research suggests that certain individuals exhibit vulnerability through their gait, and that observers select such individuals as those most likely to experience victimization. It is currently assumed that the vulnerable gait pattern is an expression of one’s submissiveness. To isolate gait movement, Study 1 utilized kinematic point-light display to record 28 individuals walking. The findings suggested that victimization history was related to gait vulnerability. The results also indicated that, contrary to expectation, individuals with more vulnerable features in their gait were more likely to self-report dominant personality characteristics, rather than submissive characteristics. In Study 2, a sample of 129 observers watched the point-light recordings and rated the walkers on their vulnerability to victimization. The results suggested that observers agreed on which walkers were easy targets; they were also accurate in that the walkers they rated as most likely to experience victimization tended to exhibit vulnerable gait cues. The current research is one of the few to explore the relationship between internal dispositions and non-verbal behavior in a sample of self-reported victims. The findings provide exciting insights related to the communicative function of gait, and the characteristics that may put some individuals at a greater risk to be criminally targeted.

中文翻译：

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我们走路时是否会揭示人格的隐藏方面？

研究表明，某些人通过步态表现出脆弱性，观察者选择这类人作为最有可能遭受伤害的人。目前假设脆弱的步态是对人顺从性的一种表达。为了隔离步态运动，研究1利用运动学点光源显示来记录28个人的行走情况。研究结果表明，受害史与步态脆弱性有关。结果还表明，与预期相反，步态较脆弱的人更有可能自我报告主导人格特征，而不是顺从特征。在研究2中，有129名观察员的样本观看了点光源记录，并评估了步行者的受害程度。结果表明观察者同意哪些步行者是容易的目标；他们也很准确，因为他们认为最有可能遭受伤害的步行者倾向于表现出脆弱的步态提示。目前的研究是探索自我报告受害人样本中内部倾向与非语言行为之间关系的少数研究之一。这些发现提供了与步态的交流功能相关的令人兴奋的见解，其特征可能使某些人面临更大的被犯罪目标的危险。目前的研究是探索自我报告受害人样本中内部倾向与非语言行为之间关系的少数研究之一。这些发现提供了与步态的交流功能相关的令人兴奋的见解，其特征可能使某些人面临更大的被犯罪目标的危险。目前的研究是探索自我报告受害人样本中内部倾向与非语言行为之间关系的少数研究之一。这些发现提供了与步态的交流功能相关的令人兴奋的见解，其特征可能使某些人面临更大的被犯罪目标的危险。