KNOWLEDGE WITHIN REACH 127BOX 32: SPREADING ARMS SHOULD SPREAD ALARMSSeveral years ago I was involved in training American Airlines security
personnel overseas. One of the employees pointed out to me that ticket
agents can often identify passengers who will become problematic by
how wide they position their arms when they are at the counter. From that
day forward I have looked for this behavior and have witnessed it count-
less times during confrontations.
I was at the airport (yes, once again!) when I overheard a passenger
being told of a new regulation that required him to pay a surcharge for his
overweight luggage. Immediately—as if on cue—this man splayed his
arms so far apart on the counter that it actually forced him to bend at the
waist. During the argument that ensued, the airline employee stepped
back and crossed his arms in front of his chest and informed the passen-
ger that unless he cooperated and calmed down he wouldn’t be allowed
on the airplane. Incidentally, it’s not every day one gets to see two remark-
able arm behaviors all at once, in what became an arm wrestling match,
at a distance.might try to encroach on his woman. Or he will plant an arm behind
his date and pivot around her so that no one can claim or violate this ter-
ritory. Watching courtship rituals can be very enlightening and enter-
taining—particularly when you see males subconsciously staking out
their territory and their date, all at once.
Another example of courtship behaviors of the arms involves how
closely a couple will (or will not) place their arms next to one another
when they are seated together at a table. There are large numbers of sen-
sory receptors in our arms, so arm touching can generate sensuous plea-
sure. In fact, even brushing against the hairs on our bare arms or a touch
through clothing can stimulate nerve endings. So when we place our
arms near someone else’s, the limbic brain is demonstrating overtly that
we are so comfortable, physical contact is permissible. The flip side of