Thoughts on On the Value of 'Power Posing'.

But Please Spare us all Posing. 

A pose by any other name

The initial findings that posture equaled power have been debunked, but body language can still play a part in your success.

by Linda Rodriguez McRobbie   in Strategy-Business

It was a bit like those internet advertisements for “one weird trick to get rid of belly fat,” except this one weird trick came with impeccable credentials.

Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist with degrees from Princeton University, claimed that holding an “expansive nonverbal display”—say, chest out, hands on hips, legs sturdily apart exactly like Wonder Woman—for two minutes had measurable behavioral, psychological, and physiological benefits. Not surprisingly, the “power pose” became an overnight sensation; Cuddy’s 2012 TED Talk explaining her research earned tens of millions of views. Here was a quick-and-easy, no-cost way to boost your confidence, nail that job interview, negotiate that raise, and be the best you that you could possibly be.

If it seemed too good to be true, well, it was. Other researchers couldn’t replicate Cuddy’s central claim—that power posing decreased levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress, and increased testosterone levels, leading to more confidence and better performance—and by 2016, one of her coauthors had fully disavowed the concept. An academic pillorying ensued, and Cuddy’s career suffered.

Although the science behind power posing was flawed and the effects of standing like a superhero or sitting like a boss for two minutes were dramatically overstated, here’s the thing: how we move, and how we sit, stand, or, indeed, pose, does have an effect on how we feel, how we perform, and how others perceive us.

Emotion, embodied  ....