Walking the Walk
Reported September 10, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — The way a person walks can say a lot about who they are. Whether a person is a ballerina or a linebacker, their strut can provide cues to their age, gender and even mood.
Researchers have now revealed a new biological perception of movement — males are perceived as motion coming toward an observer, while females are perceived as moving away.
The research was done by illuminating only the joints of model walkers and asking observers to identify various characteristics about the figures they saw. While the illuminated joints were still, they were almost completely unrecognizable as a human structure.
If you look at someone with just their joints illuminated when they arent moving, its difficult to tell what it is you are looking at. But as soon as they move, instantaneously, you can tell that its a person and perceive their nature. You can tell if its a boy or a girl, young or old, angry or happy. You can discern all these qualities about their state, affect, and actions with no cues at all about what they look like — with no form at all, just motion, Rick van der Zwan of Southern Cross University in Australia, was quoted as saying.
Participants viewed sets of both male and female joint movements. Results showed walking male figures appeared to be facing toward the observer, while walking female figures appeared to be facing away. This shows a link between the perception of gender from biological motion cues and the perception of orientation.
SOURCE: Current Biology, 2008;18:R728-R729
