Power posing likely has no effect
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July 14, 2019Background
History of Power Posing
Life Impact: 2/7
Confidence in Recommendation: 2/7
Power posing is a technique that involves adopting a powerful (expansive) posture in order to increase feelings of power and influence behavior. Researchers Dana Carney, Amy Cuddy, and Andy Yap published a 2010 study that indicated that adopting powerful postures leads to increases in testosterone and lower levels of cortisol, boosting confidence and impacting behavior.
While body language has significant effects on interpersonal interactions, adopting expansive postures before interactions did not have any significant physical or behavioral effect in many follow-up studies. Some research does indicate that power posing makes people feel more powerful, but it is not clear that this has any effect on behavior.
Recommendation
Posture Recommendation
We see no harm in testing the technique of power posing, especially since in may make people feel more confident. However, the effects are likely fairly weak, and readers may be better served by trying alternative methods to increase confidence and performance.
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