Fear alerts you to something potentially life threatening. Associated emotions and "feelings" are worthwhile to pay attention to; they can save your life... In my research seminar in evolutionary forensic psychology one of our midterm assignments was to create a powerpoint presentation based on "The Gift of Fear" by De Becker.

1. Presenter: Jay Amari Hayes
Research Seminar: Evolutionary Forensic Psychology
BE MORE CAREFUL:
How Paying Attention Can Save Your life
in College
“Kelly…didn’t listen to herself because there wasn’t
anything she saw in the man’s behavior to explain the
alarm she felt” (p. 60)

2. PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT?

3. INSTINCTS & INTUITION
DICTIONARY DEFINITION:
Intuition: direct perception of truth, independent of reasoning.
Instinct: innate impulse
It’s what causes this person to
protect this child. It’s intuitive:;
a paternal or maternal instinct.

4. MESSENGERS OF INTUITION
Our body’s way of alerting us, in hopes of
causing us to pay attention to the
situation at hand
Messengers: Ordered from greatest
urgency (all are urgent)
• Fear (ALWAYS LISTEN TO)
• Apprehension
• Suspicion
• Hesitation
• Doubt
• Gut Feelings/Hunches/Curiosity
Nagging feelings and persistent thoughts
are don’t always indicate danger
but, should be listened to regardless

5. PAY ATTENTION TO
“FEAR”
There are “survival” instincts that cause your body to experience fear. It is the
most intense emotion you can exhibit.
“Real fear” should never be ignored. “Real fear” is that intense feeling you get as
you walk into a place you thoroughly believe to be haunted. You feel it when you
walk in an dark alley alone at night in a notoriously violent neighborhood.
Later in the presentation, I will outline several “signals” that you should be alert
to, often they produce fear.

6. WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
“The capable, face-to-face criminal is an expert at keeping his
victim from seeing survival signals, but the very methods he uses
to conceal them can reveal them” (p.60)

7. #1: THE STATS DON’T LIE
• There were 235, 599 crimes on college campuses between 2005-2008
• 74.6% Burglaries /Motor Thefts
• 9.2% Aggregated Assault
• 8.4% Robberies
• 5.9% Forcible Sex Crime
• 1.7% Arson
• 01% Non-Forcible Sex Crime
• 0.1% Murder/Non-negligent manslaughter
• 95% victims were men! Only 7% were women
• Note: that only 6% of these crimes are sex-related (most represented by
women as victims)
• Crime is a problem and you should be prepared!

8. #2: THEY CAN SAVE YOU
TROUBLE, MAYBE EVEN YOUR
LIFE
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT:
“MAN, IF I HAVE ONLY LISTENED TO MY INSTINCTS…”?
‘NUFF SAID…

9. #3: SOCIETY IS INDIRECTLY TEACHING YOU
NOT TO LISTEN TO INSTINCTS/INTUITION
1. TOO MANY PEOPLE IGNORE THEIR INSTINCTS/INTUITION BECAUSE:
• DON’T WANT TO APPEAR MEAN
• THINK: “This person is so nice” and don’t ask WHY???
2. Niceness is a decision, a strategy of social interaction
3. Everything your intuition communicates to you is meaningful
4. Your interpretation of intuition is what causes issues
5. Pay attention to those messengers

10. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO FOLLOW
YOUR INSTINCS AND BE WRONG
THAN TO WISH YOU HAD LATER
IF THERE IS A “LATER”…

11. SO WHAT ARE THESE
“SIGNALS” ?

12. FORCED TEAMING
DEFINITION: The projection of a shared purpose or experience where none exists.
• An effective way to establish premature trust because a we’re-in-the-same-boat
attitude is hard to rebuff without feeling rude.
• Sharing a predicament will understandably move people around social boundaries.
• One of the most sophisticated manipulations.
EXAMPLE: “lemme help you with those groceries. We wouldn’t want
you to go hungry.”
DEFENSE: make a clear refusal to accept the concept of partnership.
• Appearing “rude”: a response is relative to the behavior that provoked it
• i.e. – stepping on someone’s foot for a second time

13. CHARM AND NICENESS
DEFINITION: v. to compel, to control by allure or attraction.
• It’s an ability, not an inherent feature of one’s personality.
• Almost always a directed instrument, which has a motive.
EXAMPLE: “Excuse me miss, what’s a beautiful woman like yourself
doing carrying these groceries all alone?”
DEFENSE: remember that it has a motive, try to look for it
• Does their niceness seem fitting, considering the context?
• For instance: in a quiet, dark parking lot afterhours
• Err on the side of caution

14. PROVIDING TOO MANY DETAILS
DEFINITION: a person providing more details in a situation because it
doesn’t sound credible to them.
• When people are telling the truth, they don’t feel doubted, so they don’t feel the
need for additional support in the form of details.
EXAMPLE: “Hey, can you give me a hand? My car just broke down, my
grandmother is sick in the hospital, I can barely afford her medical
bills. If you can just give me a jump that would be great. I normally
don’t bother people, I tend to stay on my own…”
DEFENSE: remain consciously aware of the context in which details
are offered.

15. TYPECASTING
DEFINITION: a slight insult, usually one that is easy to
refute, that leads to compelling the insulted to prove that
opinion incorrect.
EXAMPLE: “Can I help you with those? Women never seem
to want to accept help from a man, even with groceries.”
DEFENSE: remain silent

16. LOAN SHARKING
DEFINITION: generously offering assistance but is always
calculating the debt
EXAMPLE: “Hey, looks like your car needs some work. Don’t
worry, I’ll take a look it for free. I’m sure you’d do the same for
me.”
DEFENSE: bring two rarely remember facts into consciousness:
(1) he/she approached me, and I didn’t ask for any help and (2)
though a person may turn out to be just a kindly stranger,
watch for other signals.

17. THE UNSOLICITED PROMISE
DEFINITION: voluntary statement to convince you of intention
with no guarantee.
• A guarantee is a promise that offers some compensation if the
speaker fails to deliver.
• One of the most reliable signals because it is nearly always of
questionable motive.
• This signal gives you’re a second chance to see your own intuitive
signal, so pay attention.
EXAMPLE: “I’m not a bad guy. I’ll just help you with your
groceries and be on my way, I promise.”
DEFENSE: say, at least in your head, “You’re right, I am hesitant
about trusting you, and maybe for good reason. Thank you for
pointing that out.

18. DISCOUNTING THE WORD “NO”
DEFINITION: Ignoring your refusal
• Most universally significant one of all.
• Person choosing to ignore it is trying to control you or refusing to relinquish it.
• Worst response when a criminal fails to accept “no” is to give ever-weakening
refusals and then give in or negotiate
EXAMPLE: “Can I give you a hand? No, I’m okay. “C’mon, those bags
look heavy.”
DEFENSE: Say “NO” firmly as a sentence and keep moving. If they
continue to persist or seem to follow you, make it known that you
will call the police or defend yourself. “I always keep my swiss ready
and I’m not afraid to use it!”

19. ARE YOU STILL HESITANT BECAUSE…
• Don’t want to look stupid?
• Don’t want to known as cold-hearted, a bitch, or both?
• Don’t want to appear paranoid?
Want a way to “save face” and still be in-tune with your instincts?

20. TRY USING HUMOR (OR DARK HUMOR)
If you ever notice that something about a situation doesn’t feel right or you’re
experiencing “real fear”…
IF IN A Group:
Excuse yourself from a situation with dark humor:
“While you all talk to that creepy dude outside, I’m gonna go on a coffee run and
talk to the uncreepy cashier at Starbucks.”
“Yeah, ya’ll go ahead and be like those characters in the horror flicks who die first
cuz they let an obviously-looking creepy dude in the house. I’m gonna just go and
get some coffee from Starbucks.”

21. IF YOU REMEMBER NOTHING ELSE…
REMEMBER THIS:
The nicest person, the person with no self-serving agenda whatsoever,
the one who wants nothing from you, won’t approach you at all!!!
ALWAYS ASK YOUSELF:
WHAT DOES THIS PERSON WANT FROM ME?

22. WORKS CITED
De Becker, G. (1997). The gift of fear: Survival signals that protect us from violence.
New York: Dell Publishing (60-79).
Drysdale, D., Modzeleski, W., and Simons, A. (2010). Campus attacks: Targeted
violence affecting institutions of higher education. U.S. Secret Service,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Safe and Drug-Free
Schools, U.S. Department of Education, and Federal Bureau of
Investigation, U.S. Department of Justice. Washington, D.C., 2010
<http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/campus-attacks>