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It is believed that feelings, emotions, and even testosterone levels can depend on the posture that a person takes. Scientists from Bamberg decided to find out what the truth affects the position of the body, and what is an exaggeration
What’s going on
- German scientists collected and analyzed data from all available studies on the impact of body position on the emotional and physical state of a person. They consulted 24 relevant studies from 12 databases.
- Among all the sources found, scientists chose for analysis 88 publications that dealt with two types of body position. The first is the “strength and conqueror” poses, also called “expansive” poses. These are positions in which a person takes up a lot of space in space. The second is the “dominance” pose. In this case, a person stands or sits straight, can clasp his hands behind his head or behind his back.
- Scientists, after analyzing all the publications, determined whether postures actually affect feelings, behavior and physiology.
- It turned out that when taking positions of power and dominance, study participants actually felt more powerful, confident and joyful.
- As for changes in behavior, they were not recorded. Those that were noted in the publications, German scientists explained the biased research.
- Changes in human physiology – hormone levels and heart rate were also not confirmed.
What does it mean
In 2010, American psychologist Amy Cuddy published a study showing that “expansive” postures, which involve arms and legs wide apart, make a person feel more powerful and confident. Thus, study participants in this position responded better to interview questions than those who took closed poses with their heads down and arms and legs crossed. Further research showed that children in the fourth grade in “strength and victory” poses communicated better with other students and teachers. In addition, Cuddy in her study claimed that “expansive” poses increase the level of the hormone testosterone and lower cortisol.
However, some researchers have been unable to replicate some of the results of Cuddy’s study. So, the relationship between body position and hormone levels has not been proven. At the same time, the effect of postures on overall well-being was confirmed. Danish professor Mia Skytt O’Toole has proven the relationship between posture and mood based on 73 studies.
Thus, a study by German scientists on more data confirms once again that body position can affect mood, but not behavior and hormone levels.