Differences between individuals with and without experience with assault in identifying facial signs of imminent aggression

In real-world law enforcement encounters, a seemingly docile situation can turn violent in a matter of seconds. Being able to identify the signs of imminent aggression or violence may be extremely important in keeping safe those in harm´s way. In the current study university student observers were shown an array of 12 facial expressions that included target images for two types of assault - premeditated assault and a loss of impulse control assault - and some distractors. The target images were created based on consultation with individuals who had experienced incidences of physical assault, aggression, and/or violence. The observers were split into two groups - those who had experience with physical assault and those who did not. The group with experience selected the target images as those preceding assault; the group with no experience did not. These findings provide continuing evidence that reliable facial signs of imminent aggression may exist, and if so that people in harm´s way can be trained to identify those signs before they happen.