After James Holmes opened fire during the screening of Batman – The Dark Knight Rises last July, a lot of people (including me) were nervous about going to see the movie. This is probably due to the fact that following an attack, there is always the risk of copycats or someone becoming inspired to take action similar to what occurred in Colorado, which causes us to become more alert when we are out in public. As we go into a heightened state of awareness and begin attempting to consciously scan each and every person in our vicinity, we can quickly become overwhelmed by the amount of gestures, postures, expressions, walking styles, clothing choices, and every other observable facet that is available to us. If there isn’t a mental framework that allows an observer to structure what they are seeing and quickly make sense of what they are looking at, increased situational awareness could lead to an observer becoming frustrated in the endeavor. This leads to security professionals either giving up their search for criminal behavior or becoming too slow in the decision making cycle to be effective at preventing violent acts from happening. But this doesn't have to be the case.
I'm easily distracted from honest indicators to consciously controlled indicators. It appears the primarily features that result in an at-ease attitude for me are - facial expressions and speech.
Facial expressions: friendly and open - smile, eyes wide and bright; appeal for help/sad and needy - mouth turned down, eyes lowered or drooping; attractive features/a pretty face
Speech: friendly tone, engaging in conversation, appeal for help, compliment or praise
Recognizing and staying focused on automatic responses controlled by the limbic system will require much training and practice!
I'm easily distracted from honest indicators to consciously controlled indicators. It appears the primarily features that result in an at-ease attitude for me are - facial expressions and speech.
Facial expressions: friendly and open - smile, eyes wide and bright; appeal for help/sad and needy - mouth turned down, eyes lowered or drooping; attractive features/a pretty face
Speech: friendly tone, engaging in conversation, appeal for help, compliment or praise
Recognizing and staying focused on automatic responses controlled by the limbic system will require much training and practice!