Body Language Analysis No. 4065: The Murder of Laci Peterson (Part 3 of 3) Scott Peterson's Red Flag - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

This is an image of Scott Peterson - who was convicted of murdering his wife, Laci Peterson and his unborn son, Connor. It was taken from a video (during 9:11 in the video included below) captured during the early stages of the search for Laci. From a body language perspective, this image contains a profoundly valuable tell - so much so, that had we been there, or seen this video on the evening news - we would have immediately, and with very high confidence, made him the prime suspect.

Notice Scott Peterson's right arm. We can see from this camera angle that his upper arm (humerus) is parallel with the ground. This is extremely significant.

Note also the angle his upper arm makes with his torso. Imagine, for a moment, we were viewing Peterson from directly above. The angle his arm makes with his torso - is approximately 70° (with 0° being straight ahead and 90° oriented directly laterally). This angle is also critical.

When talking on a phone, the vast majority of people, the vast majority of the time - will position their "phone holding-arm" close to their torso, with the elbow pointed down toward the floor/ground.  

However occasionally, when any of us hears good news - or when we assume an alpha/hyper-alpha role (e.g., reprimanding a subordinate) - scenarios which are both temporarily high adrenaline states - we will configure our arm in a manner similar to Mr. Peterson.

Yet there are some individuals who will talk on their phone a high percentage of the time with their "arm-holding phone" held in this same manner. When performed frequently, this behavior has a very high correlation with Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Impulse Control Disorder.

Moreover, men who display this phone behavior will also have a higher likelihood of inflicting abuse on their partners.

This association is even higher when the room is relatively small, relatively crowded, or when standing close to another person.

Summary: Scott Peterson's phone behavior, in the midst of actively conducting a search for his recently missing wife, indicates a high alpha emotional tone which is extremely out of context. This is a polar opposite display from a husband who normally we would expect to be worried, panicking, distraught, grieving, etc. Even a husband who is hopeful and "level-headed" would not be exhibiting this crucial nonverbal tell.





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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4064: The Murder of Laci Peterson - Part II - A Red Flag Conspicuous by its Absence

Body Language Analysis No. 4062: President Donald Trump meets with Senator Tim Scott

Body Language Analysis No. 4060: Ted Cruz's Default Facial Expression

Body Language Analysis No. 4058: Cara Mund - Miss America 2018

Body Language Analysis No. 4048: Lady Di - Ambassador of Empathy

Body Language Analysis No. 4017: Elisabeth Moss, Anthony Rizzo, and a Signal of Sincerity

Body Language Analysis No. 4016: Anthony Scaramucci - Faux Pas and Harbingers

Body Language Analysis No. 3976: Bill Conner bicycles 1,400 miles to hear his daughter's beating heart again

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3922: Vladimir Putin and Michael Flynn in Moscow

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3879: Donald Trump, Wiretapping, Adam Schiff & Russia - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Today the leaders of a crucial US House of Representative committee conducted a press briefing in which they said they had seen no evidence of President Trump’s allegation that he or his staff had been wiretapped by President Obama during Trump's campaign.

The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes (R-CA), said, “We don’t have any evidence that that took place." The top-ranking democrat on the committee, Adam Schiff, agreed (D-CA), saying, “I have seen no evidence that supports the claim that President Trump made.”

The video above contains a portion of this press briefing. In this clip, only Representative Schiff is speaking.

From a body language perspective, one thing, in particular, jumps out regarding Rep. Schiff - his eyes. More specifically, both of his upper eyelids are, throughout most of this segment, opened much wider than baseline.

This "White and Wide" configuration of Adam Schiff's eyes (eyelids) is due to a hyper-adrenaline state. It's a very common physiologic response to anxiety. Even a person who's accustomed to being on national TV will be a more nervous when it involves an investigation with such high ramifications.

Although it's not captured in this portion of this press conference, it's crucial to note that Rep. Schiff and Rep. Nunes did not agree on whether or not there was yet, any evidence that Trump's campaign staff had any improper contact with the Russians during the campaign.

When a question regarding evidence of any possible link was posed, Mr. Nunes said, "Not that I'm aware of", while Rep. Schiff interjected saying, "You know, I, I'm, I wouldn't answer that question, ah, as categorically as my colleague and - ah, you know we're not privileged to talk about the contents of the investigation, but I, you know, I-I think we need to be very precise, ah, when we talk about this, ah-um - and I, I just don't think answer that, answer categorically, ah, and not in this forum." Thus it is possible that the details regarding this specific disagreement was the reason for Adam Schiff's heightened adrenaline.

The eyes are always of the utmost importance in the endeavor to accurately interpret (or project) nonverbal signals. What some people would call "subtleties" are often glossed-over or go completely unnoticed. And, in this example, Representative Schiff's eyelid changes are far from subtle.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3878: Sean Spicer, White House Briefing, Donald Trump's Wiretapping Allegations 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3876: John McCain's "State of the Union" Interview re: Donald Trump, Michael Flynn, Wiretap Allegations and Russia

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3874: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Denies that Carbon Dioxide is the Cause of Global Warming

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3872: "Fearless Girl" Statue in Manhattan's Financial District

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3856: "Belle" Clip - Beauty and the Beast

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3811: Hayden Panettiere, Stephen Colbert and Personal Space

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3657: Abbey D'Agnostino, Nikki Hamblin and the Olympic Spirit

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3647: Yusra Mardini, Refugees, Syrian Swimmer, and Sincere Smiles


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