Teaching aggression--right out of the gait!

Your "perceived pedagogical physical presence" (PPPP) in the classroom not all that it could be?  According to new research by Satchell and colleagues at the University of Portsmouth reported by Science Daily, it may well be your . . . gait! According to their study, the way you move your upper and/or lower body may be perceived by students as overly (or micro-ly) aggressive. And we know what that can mean, if your classroom is not a "safe space" today!

Clker.com

In the study, subjects did both a paper test that looked at aggressive tendencies and were video recorded walking on the treadmill. Degree of upper body, lower body movement and gait speed were then correlated with various indices of aggression and gender.  My summary of the results:

Overall tendencies:

• More combined upper and lower body motion was correlated with tendency toward physical aggression.
• More upper body motion was correlated with tendency toward conscientiousness.
• More lower body motion was correlated with tendency toward extroversion.

Male tendencies: 

• More upper or lower body motion was correlated with tendency toward verbal aggression.
• More upper body motion was correlated with tendency toward extroversion.

Female tendencies:

• More combined upper and lower body motion was correlated with tendency toward physical aggression. 
• More upper body motion was correlated with tendency toward conscientiousness.
• More lower body motion or overall speed of gait was correlated with tendency toward agreeableness. 

See how those can add up on you and at the same time become confounded? Viewed and critiqued any video recording of your teaching lately? Regardless of how well your upper or lower body tends to move, whether in class or on the dance floor, regular review of your current PPPP is the only conscientious thing to do! You agreeable to that? 

Citation:
University of Portsmouth. (2016, September 13). Link between walk, aggression discovered. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 26, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160913125309.htm