What's with the hands behind the back?

[Sparkly]

Rummy looks like he's ready for handcuffs. It's just not a posture you see that often. What's up with that? Any body language experts here?

[MuseRider]

1. Hiding their

crossed fingers?

[eleny]

2. Getting ready for the handcuffs?

[smirkymonkey]

6. That's my guess!

Looks good on them, doesn't it?

Hi Eleny! :hi:

[Otm Shank]

3. bloodstains

Those pesky bloodstains! Out, damned spot!!! :evilgrin:

[Democracy White]

4. Maybe he has a 300 year old Trill symbiont

and one of it's past hosts put her hands behind her back.

My first Star Trek reference of the day.

Dee

[shraby]

5. I would say it indicates hiding

something.

[whistle]

7. John Roberts is flirting with these people and is using controlled

...body language to keep his real intentions in check. Initial impression of people who he meets will be based 55% on his appearance and body-language, 38% on his style of speaking and only 7% on what he actually says. But, Roberts clearly does not want to telegraph anything about himself internally through body language or appearance, thus the dark suit and hands clasped tightly behind him.

<snip>
SIRC Guide to Flirting
What Social Science can tell you about flirting and how to do it
Why do we flirt?

Flirting is much more than just a bit of fun: it is a universal and essential aspect of human interaction. Anthropological research shows that flirting is to be found, in some form, in all cultures and societies around the world.

Flirting is a basic instinct, part of human nature. This is not surprising: if we did not initiate contact and express interest in members of the opposite sex, we would not progress to reproduction, and the human species would become extinct.

According to some evolutionary psychologists, flirting may even be the foundation of civilisation as we know it. They argue that the large human brain - our superior intelligence, complex language, everything that distinguishes us from animals - is the equivalent of the peacock's tail: a courtship device evolved to attract and retain sexual partners. Our achievements in everything from art to rocket science may be merely a side-effect of the essential ability to charm.

<more>
<link> http://www.sirc.org/publik/flirt.html

[Bucky]

8. It's actually a dominance pose. Benevolent leaders being thoughtful

The subconscious message being sent is I'm confident, I'm calm, I'm at peace in my command and don't have to prepare to defend myself against possible challengers. Particularly Rummy. Note the guy in the group shot, obviously lower rank, who crosses his hands in front. Clearly a physical sign of deference. It's also something of a contemplative pose -- "I'm thinking all these deep thoughts; please be quiet and attend me while I gather them."


Roberts looks a little more formal. Maybe that's noblesse oblige; maybe that's judicial reserve. He sure looks more comfortable with Cornyn than Schumer, however. And there seems to be something of deference in how he's posing next to Cornyn. Roberts strikes me as something of a Beta male, ready to do the Alpha's bidding.

[DS1]

9. *fart*

You think that's air you're breathing?

[Dora]

10. I think it's anxiety

Hiding the hands, using one hand to grasp the other, keeping them still and hidden...

If they were out in front, everyone could see how Rummy is white-knuckling it these days.


idle hands do the devil's work, after all.

[JDPriestly]

12. Anxiety mixed with the desire to hold back.

That would explain why lawyers so often hold their hands behind their backs when appearing before judges.

[JDPriestly]

11. Some theories

Here are some theories I found when I googled "hands behind back."

hands joined behind your back – this stance (the “parade rest”) makes
you seem like you have no energy

http://marjoriebrody.com/showArticle.asp?id=1

Body language is also key. I’m inclined to slouch on one hip and I instinctively put my hands behind my back: advertisements that you are feeling nervous, apparently.

http://www.skillstudio.co.uk/red-1.htm

And, here is how George Orwell interpreted the gesture in 1984:

The man sat down on the bench at a little distance from Winston. Winston did not look at him again, but the tormented, skull-like face was as vivid in his mind as though it had been straight in front of his eyes. Suddenly he realized what was the matter. The man was dying of starvation. The same thought seemed to occur almost simultaneously to everyone in the cell. There was a very faint stirring all the way round the bench. The eyes of the chinless man kept flitting towards the skull-faced man, then turning guiltily away, then being dragged back by an irresistible attraction. Presently he began to fidget on his seat. At last he stood up, waddled clumsily across the cell, dug down into the pocket of his overalls, and, with an abashed air, held out a grimy piece of bread to the skull-faced man.

There was a furious, deafening roar from the telescreen. The chinless man jumped in his tracks. The skull-faced man had quickly thrust his hands behind his back, as though demonstrating to all the world that he refused the gift.

http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/1984/18/

I'd like to hear from an expert. I've often seen lawyers make this gesture when standing before a judge. It may suggest that the person does not want to show emotion, or feels respect for the other person or is being very guarded about what they say. Maybe Rumsfeld wanted to signal that he was not ready to shake hands, salute or make some other such signal to the person he was talking to. Putting your hands behing your back brakes any forward movement, so it could be interpreted as expressing a desire to hold back or stay pat, one or the other. Interesting.

[Sal Minella]

13. Mimicking the military "At ease" posture, consciously or

unconsciously??? What this posture says to me (in these guys) is "I'm disciplined, contained, controlled, at-ease, and so unafraid of you that I dare leave my privates out front unprotected in your presence because I know you wouldn't dare attack me."

A little graphic, sorry, but I've been an amateur student of animal behavior (including Homo insanitus) for a long time.

[applegrove]

14. So they won't look like neanderthals they are and pose

instead as helpful elder gents.

[Bluebear]

15. Faux-jock "at ease" posture