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Analyzing Alex Murdaugh’s Body Language

Alex Murdaugh's Body LanguageThe Alex Murdaugh trial has garnered much attention in recent days, and for good reason: a public figure with a lot of money is tried and convicted of a vicious crime. As with many criminal trials in popular culture, the demeanor of the defendant has received a lot of attention.

In this brief blog, I’d like to discuss a little bit about how reading people and the analysis of body language can help get greater insights into the minds of others. At the same time, I’d like to discuss some of the trials and tribulations of doing so without a solid empirical and experiential basis.

First of all, we should acknowledge the context within which we are observing behavior, which is a trial of a public figure that is being televised. In such a trial, questions and responses are often practiced and polished before they are raised in the court.

Oftentimes the questions that are asked are fixed and those asking questions don’t have the freedom or the luxury to go wherever they want to, as in a free-flowing investigative interview.

The astute observer should realize that reading behavioral indicators of mental states is clouded by such circumstances. That is very different than a spontaneous investigative interview conducted behind closed doors outside of public and television view.

“Anywhere, Anytime”

Many people have commented on the defendant’s verbal answer that he did not kill his wife and son “anywhere, anytime.” (see 0:19 in the video above)

Certainly the use of such language raises doubt about the veracity of that statement because those adverbs seem to make it appear that the suspect is trying to convince the questioner (or the jury) of the denial.

Yet, one has to temper such interpretations because the suspect was asked whether he killed members of his family several times prior, and one of those times the attorney asking the question (in this case, the defense attorney) actually used those very same words.

Thus, when Murdaugh said those same words, it was difficult to know whether those words came spontaneously from his head or was given to him by the person asking the question. The response was contaminated by the way in which the questions up to that point were asked.

Murdaugh Head Nods

When Alex Murdaugh was asked if he killed his family, he says “No, I did not,” while nodding his head up and down.

In that same response, Murdaugh nodded his head several times when making the denial. Many people will be quick to suggest that that head nod was clearly contrary to the denial, using the head nod as a sign of deception (nodding yes while denying).

But hold on; Murdaugh nods his head almost continuously at times, even when not being asked a question or even speaking. That behavior may be a residual effect of a drug addiction.

Yes, although he is likely clean during this testimony, such behavioral effects (e.g., tremors, fidgeting, twitching, tics, etc.) can continue in individuals who have been afflicted with drugs even when they are clean. Thus, jumping on such single instances of behavior and drawing definitive conclusions is difficult and should be done with caution.

Compounding this issue is that head nods are also used to illustrate or animate speech, and not just as signs of verbal “yes” or agreement. Could Murdaugh have been nodding when denying as an emphasis of his denial rather than a contradiction?

This is the differential that I believe a cautious behavioral analyst should engage in.

Cross-Examination of Murdaugh

In fact, later when the DA was cross-examining Murdaugh, he gave a similar denial with the multiple head nods, which was a similar communication package as that described immediately above.

The problem with this other instance, however, was that the DA asked if Murdaugh had “annihilated” his family; thus, Murdaugh’s head nods could be an emphasis of his denial given the explosive nature of the word in the question itself.

Compounding all of this further were the vehement and somewhat emotional ways questions were addressed to Murdaugh by both his attorney and the DA. When interpreting behaviors associated with responses in such situations, it becomes very difficult to separate the behavioral signs of mental states related to his own state of mind and its contents and his reactions to the emotional ways in which the questions were being delivered.

Would Murdaugh have produced a different package of behavior with the denial if he were asked calmly or with less vocal intensity? Probably so.

Thus, attempts to analyze the situations above, and others like it, are difficult and sometimes futile because they are somewhat contaminated by context and the demeanor of the questioners themselves.

As a result, we have to look elsewhere in his testimony for demeanor that is clearer and can clean up some of these differentials in interpretation. In fact, those existed. (Can you find them?)

My point is this blog is that sometimes reading people and using behavioral indicators of mental states are not as easy as some portray. By the way, in our workshops, we provide the kind of textured and nuanced way of reading people that is especially effective for interviewers.

The post Analyzing Alex Murdaugh’s Body Language first appeared on Humintell.

How Nonverbal Communication Is Going Digital

In a recent BBC Worklife article, Joanna York suggests that we’re used to reading body language and silent cues in person but with remote work, subtle ways we communicate are changing – and workers need to know how to adapt.

The global pandemic certainly changed the way we interact. In fact, one 2021 Beezy survey detailing digital workplace trends shows that 54% of professionals now attend more (virtual) meetings than they used to pre-pandemic (in-person). Moreover, close to half of the respondents (43%) said they now attend between 4 and 7 more meetings per week than they used to pre-pandemic.

Nonverbal Communication in the Workforce 

In a previous blog we described how it’s true that when communicating digitally, the visual stimulation of a person’s behavior or in their facial expressions is almost the same as being face to face, especially given the level of technology that we have now. In addition, your auditory perception (hearing ability) is present, since you can clearly hear the other person’s tone of voice.

But there are clearly some substantial differences between being live vs virtual, including a reduction in nonverbal communication and nonverbal behavior.

What are some of those differences?

In a live context when we interact with others, we receive what Dr. Matsumoto calls “full nonverbal packages” which include:

  • The face and facial expressions
  • Voice
  • Gestures
  • Body posture
  • Leg, hand and foot movements

In-person we also have the additional nonverbal cues such as the ability to sense spacing between one another, hear sounds, and experience various smells.

Virtually we have much less of these observable cues and it’s harder to read body language in general. You typically cannot see the whole body and therefore cannot see many of the body movements from the waist down that you can typically see live.

There are more distractions: on screen, you can see yourself and focus on what you look like. People’s backgrounds are static. It’s easy to pay less attention to the person you’re speaking to.

Here are 6 tips on how to communicate effectively virtually:

1. Turn on your camera and unmute yourself

While you may be tempted to turn your video off or press mute, it may not be the best idea. In fact, a 2022 survey of 200 executives showed that 92% of managers believed that employees who turned off their cameras during meetings were less likely to have a long-term future at their company.

Public speaking coach AnnMarie Baines agrees, “I have observed more people using the virtual world to hide and avoid the fear public speaking completely. By turning off our cameras and putting ourselves on mute, it is easier to opt out of public speaking and observe discussions at a distance, as opposed to being spotlighted and risk judgment and uncertainty.”

2. Create a context that is conducive to have work meetings

If possible, carve out a physical workspace at home and treat that space like you would a work environment. If you have a meeting, dress like you’re going to a meeting. Context matters!

See what you look like before the meeting; check your camera angle. Check your background, sounds, lighting to ensure it’s appropriate.

3. Stay focused on the interaction and value your connection to your audience

It’s easy to get distracted and to think that others not paying attention. Data has also shown that during video calls, factors like camera angles, distance from the camera and ability to make eye contact all impact how likeable people are perceived to be.

York describes how eye contact particularly is positively associated with likeability, social presence, and interpersonal attraction. Yet making eye-contact on a video call requires us to go against our natural instincts as it requires you to look into the camera when you speak. Like anything, it takes practice!

4. Use nonverbal cues to confirm understanding

Use nonverbal cues – faces and voices – along with verbal content and confirm understanding. These remote meetings may take longer, and we may need to make more effort to make sure we’re all on the same page. Ask questions. Confirm understanding verbally. Not being on the same page can have dire consequences.

5. Expect and embrace discomfort

covid-19, remote communication and body languageCommunicating over a webcam may be uncomfortable. That said, for many, public speaking has always been an uncomfortable and somewhat unnatural experience, even before the pandemic hit.

Many speakers and performers use visualization techniques, where they prepare themselves by imagining the result they want. Instead of imagining situations where you don’t feel any nerves at all, it can help to imagine the jitters you might have at the start and then imagine them disappearing as you sink into the moment and connect with your audience.

It can also help to embrace the reality that public speaking will sometimes feel awful, but also that the discomfort won’t last forever — sometimes, it is only a few minutes.

6. Record and re-watch

If your service allows recording of your interactions, check out how you come off. It’s a great learning experience to see yourself.

The post How Nonverbal Communication Is Going Digital first appeared on Humintell.

Meta Analysis: Psychological Effects of Power Poses

Body language affects how others see us, but can it also change how we see ourselves?

Amy Cuddy’s infamous 2012 Ted Talk (above) claimed that power posing was the key to confidence. Critics shut down her theory for years, but the latest research indicates that there may be some truth in it after all.

In a recently published meta-analysis in Psychological Bulletin, a team of psychologists shed light on the possible physical, behavioral, and psychological effects of power poses and other body positions.

Background

Initial studies on power posing indicated that engaging in expansive body positions will raise testosterone levels, lower cortisol levels, and increase risk taking. A number of these studies received a lot of media attention when they were published but faced enormous criticism because their results could not be replicated. Since then, additional studies on the effects of body positions have been published, but their results have been mixed.

The Methodology

Researchers from Germany and the United States collected and analyzed findings from past studies to determine whether posture influences a person’s self-perception, behavior, and hormone levels.

They searched 12 scientific databases using terms such as “body position” and “power pose” and found over 24,000 potentially relevant studies. Only studies that used an experimental design with random assignment, which would allow causal inferences to be drawn, were retained. To avoid publication bias, the team also sent out requests for unpublished data.

The resulting sample is the largest sample of studies on body positions so far, consisting of 128 experiments with a total of almost 10,000 participants.

The team focused on two types of body positions:

  1. Power poses: Standing or sitting in a very expansive way, taking up a lot of space. A low-power pose would be crossing your legs and folding your arms while standing, or bowing your head and putting your hands on your lap while seated.
  2. Upright postures: Standing erect or sitting up straight in a chair versus bowing your head and slumping.

Theoretical and empirical research have suggested that power poses are nonverbal expressions of dominance, whereas upright postures are displays of prestige.

The Results

The team found clear evidence for the effects of both body position types on self-perception.

These nonverbal expressions of status clearly produced larger effects than did other forms of embodied feedback (e.g., facial feedback or arm flexion): When experimental participants took power or upright postures, they felt better and were more confident than when they took contractive or hunched body positions. The effects held for males and females of all ages in both Western and Eastern countries.

There were also some effects on behaviors, such as task persistence and antisocial behavior. However, these findings were less robust and might be influenced by outliers and/or publication bias.

There was no evidence for effects on hormones (e.g., testosterone, cortisol) or other physiological indicators (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance).

Questions Remain


Although people may feel more confident, it remains to be seen if they act more confident when standing tall.

Some research has found that power posing does affect behavioral traits like task persistence and antisocialness, but other studies have not. Only those that have found bigger effects have been published, which means researchers haven’t been able to examine studies with less significant results, a phenomenon known as publication bias.

There are some study design limitations that prevent the researchers from being able to say that standing tall can directly make you more confident. Most of the studies they analyzed didn’t have a control group; the researchers didn’t compare people power-posing to people standing in a neutral position. Instead, they asked participants to adopt either a dominant, open, or submissive posture.

Confidence vs Competence

nonverbal power of postureIf our posture can result in different chemical configurations being manifest in our brain, can this actually help us seem competent and get a job? The answer, according to Dr. Matsumoto, is a little mixed.

On the one hand, there is certainly a lot conveyed through a sense of powerful posture. Not only can it make other people, such as an interviewer for a job, conclude that we are self-confidant, but it can even make us feel more self-assured and competent. This is not to be downplayed.

That said, it does not actually make us competent. Dr. Matsumoto cautions the aspiring power posturer against over-reliance on these tactics:

“My advice would be to first gain actual competence in your field. The last thing anyone should want is to look confident and not really be competent. Once one has a certain degree for a lot of competence, adopting certain body postures may help to feel even more confident and powerful … but they’ve got to believe it and be able to back it up with real competence.”

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