Recently, it has come to public knowledge, that while Jim Jordan was an assistant coach on the men's wrestling team at Ohio State University, a then team physician - Dr. Richard Strauss - allegedly sexually abused many athletes. Multiple former wrestlers on the team have now come forward alleging that Jordan had knowledge of - but ignored their complaints of Strauss' sexual abuse.
Dr. Strauss died of suicide in 2005.
What follows is a partial nonverbal analysis of Representative Jordan in the above video. In addition, crucial wording of Jordan's answers/statement is also subjected to statement analysis.
At multiple times during this video (e.g., six times in the first 38 seconds), Representative Jordan displays what is known as a Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression (R2E2). One of these examples (photo immediately above) is shown above, was captured during the 0:12 second mark as Jordan said, "... it was on an email chain ..."
The Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression is a common nonverbal signal which varies in duration (e.g., very briefly, such as a microexpression or near-microexpression) - but it may also manifest via longer-duration facial displays. Most body language novices will mistake this the R2E2 with the thought-emotion signal of disgust - yet these have two completely different meanings. An R2E2 resembles a unilateral snarl and almost always is accompanied by partially closed eyelids and often times with a side-to-side head shaking.
It's crucial to emphasize that all emotionally-healthy people display the R2E2 expression on occasion, but when it is seen - and most importantly, when it's frequent, one should always ask the following questions:
- What's my overall feeling of their sincerity in this moment?
- Does this person truly believe what they're saying?
- What specifically, do I feel is their predominant emotion in this moment?
- What are my gut feelings regarding this person's motive(s) in this moment?
- Of what, specifically, are they trying to convince me?
- Why are they putting an extra effort in trying to convince me of an idea, course of action, etc.?
- Are they feigning an "Achilles Heel" and if so, what is it? Why would they share with me one of their weaknesses?
Remember - we all use the Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression once in a while. Professionals who tend to over-use the Rationalization Rapport Empathy Expression include sales professionals, physicians, pundits, those in law enforcement, politicians, and attorneys.
Throughout the vast majority of this video, Representative Jordan holds his hands on his hips - which is often referred to as "Arms Akimbo". More specifically, although we can't see his hands directly, via the position of his arms, we can discern his fingers are positioned forward with his thumbs backward. A fingers forward arms akimbo configuration in this context is hyper-alpha.
(In the opposite scenario - the thumbs-forward/fingers-backward arms akimbo transmits supportive, helpful, and sometimes quizzical emotions. Although this other variation projects some alpha qualities, it's clearly an alpha-beta hybrid.)
When confronted with the alleged knowledge of - along with the alleged lack of reporting of such a large scale case of systemic abuse - particularly when his view of events is opposed to other contemporary witnesses who are now on public record - in this setting, a nonverbal response of a fingers-forward arms akimbo is defensive. On its own, this hyper alpha configuration does not indicate deception - and while a person who has no direct knowledge of the events in question would certainly not be configured in a beta body language (e.g., a fig leaf) - he'd also be much more likely to be in a relatively neutral position (e.g., having his arms at his sides). In other words, an innocent person tends not to be defensive - in words, action, tone, and body language.
Jim Jordan made one statement which is a profound example of statement analysis. Note his following answer to a question regarding Doctor Strauss:
JIM JORDAN (continuing at 2:41): Ah, I, I, I did know Doctor Strauss - he was, ah, you know, he, was there when we got to Ohio state, ahum - and - was continued to work at Ohio State once, once I left. Ah, so, yeah, you know, knew, knew ah, the doctor. Ahum - but there's no truth to the fact that, that I knew of any abuse. Ahhh, er, I've talked to other coaches - they didn't know of any abuse [pseudo-laughing] ah, it j'st, it j'st, it - that's just not accurate to say those things - that we knew of it 'nd didn't report it. It's just not true.
His choice of words "... but there's no truth to the fact that, that I knew of any abuse..." is what many would call a "Freudian Slip". If Jordan were telling the truth, then an allegation against his version of events would not be a "fact" (they would be lies). Rather, he should have said, "these allegations are false" or "I didn't know of any abuse".
Another intriguing display of statement analysis is exampled in Jordan's strong tendency to use the plural pronoun "we" rather than the first person singular pronoun "I" throughout this video. The use of "we" rather than "I" is often an attempt to diffuse responsibility, guilt, and blame. This word choice may be either subconsciously or consciously driven and is a variation of what is known as "Forced Teaming" (de Becker).
SUMMARY: Representative Jordan's body language in this video, although not definitive for deception - is moderately suggestive that he did have contemporaneous knowledge of the allegations of sexual abuse raised against Dr. Richard Strauss. Statement analysis of Jordan's verbal behavior indicates an even higher index of suspicion that Jordan was informed of the allegations against Dr. Strauss during his tenure as an assistance wrestling coach at Ohio State University.
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See also:
Body Language Analysis No. 4317: Scott Pruitt Confronted in Restaurant by Kristin Mink
Body Language Analysis No. 4315: Rep. Jim Jordan grills Rod Rosenstein at DOJ hearing
Body Language Analysis No. 4312: South Korea Defeats Germany at The World Cup
Body Language & Emotional Intelligence - Analysis No. 4106 (Reposting with Addendum): Jordan's Queen Rania meets with Rohingya Refugee Children & Melania Trump's Visit to Children's Shelter/Detention Center
Body Language Analysis No. 4299: Bill Clinton confronted regarding Monica Lewinsky Affair
Body Language Analysis No. 4283: Unidentified Man with Qatari Ahmed Al-Rumaihi in Trump Tower Elevator on 12 December 2016
Body Language Analysis No. 4241: Vladimir Putin responding to a question regarding the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
Body Language Analysis No. 4183: Aly Raisman, Larry Nassar, and USA Gymnastics
Body Language Analysis No. 4162: Is Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson Going to Run for President in 2020?
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