Gesture Library Perception Study - K3VR Project

Dear Participant,

Thank you for your interest in our research.

This study explores how people perceive police officers' gestures and body postures. The findings will help develop an AI-based training tool to support de-escalation during police-citizen interactions.

In this survey, you will watch short video clips and assess the officer's posture based on certain situations. The survey takes about 15 to 20 minutes to complete.

This study is conducted by the Interactive and Cognitive Systems research group at Fraunhofer HHI. It is part of the K3VR research project, De-escalating Conflicts and Crises through Communication (K3VR), carried out in collaboration with Akkon University, Aspekteins GmbH, and the Bavarian and Berlin Police. The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Your participation is completely voluntary, and you can stop at any time. Your responses are fully anonymous and cannot be linked back to you. The data will be used only for scientific research, and all information will be handled according to GDPR data protection regulations.

Participation Requirements:

You must be at least 18 years old
You must currently reside in Germany
You must NOT have a current employment relationship with the police

Informed Consent:

By checking the box and continuing with the survey, you confirm that:

You meet all eligibility requirements listed above.
You have read and understood the information about the study and data protection policy.
You understand that you may withdraw from the study at any time without any disadvantage to yourself.

If you have any further questions about the study, please contact Dr. Iryna Kuptsova (iryna.kuptsova@hhi.fraunhofer.de)

*Which best describes your gender identity?

Male Female Diverse Other gender identity Prefer not to say

*What is your age?

*In social interactions, people may form impressions based on various characteristics, including Perceived background. Based on your personal experiences in everyday interactions in Germany, to what extent would you agree with the following statement?

In my daily interactions, others tend to perceive me as someone with a non-German cultural or ethnic background.

Completely agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Completely disagree Prefer not to say

*How would you describe your overall view of the police in Germany?

Very positive Positive Neither positive nor negative Negative Very negative Don't know

*Which political party in Germany do you currently feel closest to, if any? Alternatively, which party did you vote for in the most recent election?

CDU/CSU(Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union) SPD (Social Democratic Party of Germany) The Greens FDP(Free Democratic Party) The Left AfD(Alternative for Germany) BSW(Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht) None / I do not feel close to any party Other:

*Please describe your interactions with law enforcement officers over the past five years. How would you generally characterize these experiences?

Very positive(helpful, respectful, and professional) Moderately positive(generally good but with minor issues) Mixed(some positive and some negative experiences) Moderately negative (problematic but with some professional aspects) Very negative(unprofessional, disrespectful, or harmful) No interactions with law enforcement in the past 5 years

How to Complete the Survey

You will watch short videos showing different police officer postures.
For each video, please rate whether the officer's body language tends to escalate or de-escalate the situation in the given scenario.

Escalation means the officer's posture increases tension, aggression, or conflict, while a de-escalating posture helps calm the situation and reduce tension.

How to Use the Slider

Move slider LEFT for de-escalation and move slider RIGHT for escalation.
The further you move the slider, the stronger the escalation or de-escalation effect.
You can move the slider only once per video.

You can NOT leave slider in a neutral position. Once you make your selection, a new video will appear.

Time Matters

First, you will read a scenario. Please take a moment and imagine yourself in that situation.
Next, you will watch videos depicting the same scenario you just read about.
When answering the video questions, try to respond quickly — we want your first impressions.

Please read this scenario carefully,
then proceed to evaluate 0 videos related to this situation.

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How would you rate the officer's body language?

0

De-escalation Escalation

*How well were you able to follow the instruction to respond quickly with your first impressions throughout this survey?

Very well - I responded quickly to most videos without distractions Well - I responded quickly to most videos with only minor distractions Somewhat well - I responded quickly to some videos but was sometimes distracted or took more time Not very well - I found it difficult to respond quickly due to distractions or needing more time to think Not well at all - I was frequently distracted or took considerable time for most responses

*Did you encounter any difficulties while evaluating the escalation/de-escalation of posture in the presented situations?

? Choose one of the following answers

No difficulties - the scenarios were clear and easy to evaluate Minor difficulties - some aspects were unclear but manageable Moderate difficulties - several scenarios were challenging to assess Significant difficulties - many scenarios were hard to evaluate accurately Major difficulties - most evaluations were very challenging

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