How does standing or sitting affect people's sense of power and control? And how does this manifest itself on a physiological or behavioral level? Do not take your feet off the table
Miriam Dishon-Berkowitz Galileo
Imagine the head of the board trying to convince his colleagues to pass a difficult decision. He stands in front of his audience, straightens his back, his head is erect, his hands rest on the table in front of him. People, as well as animals, demonstrate power and control through many non-verbal means, including postural postures. And although a wide and open posture is known from my side, i.e. one that takes up more space in space by erecting the back and spreading the arms and legs to the sides, it transmits power and dominance. On the other hand, a contracted and closed posture that takes up a limited space in space by bending the back and gathering the arms and legs conveys weakness.
Power and control are means of obtaining resources, positive emotions and even higher cognitive function, according to studies. Furthermore, people with power report a greater willingness (compared to people with less power) to take various actions, and also report a greater willingness to take risks. In addition to this, studies have found that there are differences in two important hormones, testosterone and cortisol, between people who are in a position of power and those who are not.
For example, it was found that after a victory, the level of testosterone increases, and it also increases in anticipation of participating in the competition. Conversely, the testosterone level decreases due to loss. In addition, it was found that strength is related to the stress hormone cortisol: people with strength and control have lower levels of cortisol than people who lack power and control. Also, when a person gains strength his cortisol level goes down.
A study of power and control
In a study now published in the journalPsychological Science Researchers Dana Carney, Amy Cuddy, and Andy Yap (Carney, Cuddy, Yap) asked people to stand and sit in open and wide or contracted and contracted postures. The researchers examined the question of whether simply standing or sitting in a power position would make people feel more powerful, and whether Will it manifest itself on the physiological or behavioral level? On the physiological level, they wanted to examine whether the subjects' testosterone levels would be higher, and whether the cortisol levels would be lower? And on the behavioral level: would the subjects be more inclined to take risks?
42 participants were in the study. They were told that its purpose was to test the effect of posture on electrocardiographic measurements (ECG - electrical recording of the heart's activity). They were connected to an EKG machine. and were asked to sit or stand in two different positions. Unbeknownst to them, half were asked to stand and sit in a position of strength and half were asked to stand and sit in a position of weakness.
The participants in the strength group were asked to stand in an open and wide position that takes up a lot of space. They were asked to stand with legs apart, torso straight, leaning forward on a table. In the sitting position, they were asked to lean back in their chair, join their hands behind the back of their neck, stretch their legs forward and rest on a table in front of them.
In contrast, the participants in the powerless group were asked to stand in a closed and contracted position occupying a limited space. They were asked to stand with their body bent, their head bowed and their arms and legs crossed. In the sitting position, they were asked to sit with their heads bowed, with their backs bent and their hands placed as close as possible to their fingers on their knees. Each participant was asked to sit for one minute in the sitting position and stand for one minute in the standing position. In addition, two saliva samples were taken from each participant to measure testosterone and cortisol levels, one before the start of the experiment, and the other at the end.
To measure the participants' willingness to take risks, they took part in a gambling task. They were given two dollars, and told they could either keep the money (a safe bet) or roll a die and thus risk losing the two dollars or winning four dollars. Finally, the participants filled out a questionnaire in which they rated the degree to which they felt empowered and in control.
The analysis of the findings shows that standing or sitting in a position of strength resulted in higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol compared to sitting or standing in a position of weakness. It turned out that the participants in the strength group tended to take more risk in gambling, compared to the participants in the weakness group. Finally, participants who sat or stood in power positions reported feeling more empowered and in control.
The current study shows that a simple manipulation of a change in the sitting or standing position for two minutes is enough to bring about physiological, mental and behavioral changes. Previous studies have pointed to a phenomenon whereby physical movements can affect mood. For example, moving the lips upwards in a smiling movement results in the reporting of positive feelings.
Erecting the head results in a feeling of pride and shrinking the body into a bent position results in reporting feelings of despondency. The current study joins previous studies that indicate that the posture has a direct effect on both the physiological and behavioral levels. Research has implications for everyday life: think, for example, about applying its findings the next time you speak in front of an audience or attend a job interview...
Dr. Miriam Dishon-Berkowitz She is a psychologist, an organizational and marketing consultant and a lecturer at Ono Academic College.
5 תגובות
In light of additional studies on the subject, the inability to repeat the results of the study and the reversal of the position of the researcher Ms. Dana Kay, what is your scholarly opinion? Isn't it appropriate to publish a clarification article?
Have you heard of the concept "hearts are drawn after deeds"? Even a person who hates the army at the end of his service will not be able to get rid of the many habits he has acquired, he still enjoys those habits.
The same with the pose or anything else, as long as you change something external, something internal will always change as well, I don't need research on this, it's simple to me even without reading the article.
This is true to a certain extent.
One must ask: How did you get to your current state of mind? Is it following a certain pose?
If so, then surely correcting the pose will correct the situation.
If not, then changing the pose might make it a little easier, but without solving the original problem it's hard for me to see how a real inner change can come.
When you change position your state of mind naturally changes. This is how our world works, the inside changes with the change of the outside (like shritlin makes you "naturally" more calm and peaceful).
When you are sitting and the angry teacher is above you, you usually feel some kind of discomfort. When you stand and the angry teacher is in front of you, you don't feel uncomfortable.
Basically the posture is affected by the mental state.
I think it is "improper" to try to change the mental state by changing the position. Kind of cheating. It is better to stay in the "natural" position and try to change the mental state in natural ways.