SocialNEUTRAL — Rhetoric

Power Posing

What it is

Adopting expansive, space-claiming body postures to project dominance and confidence, potentially affecting both the audience's perception and the poser's own psychological state.

How it works

Open, expansive postures (hands on hips, arms spread, leaning back with hands behind head) signal dominance and confidence. These poses claim physical space, which humans instinctively read as power indicators. While the "power pose changes your hormones" claim is debated, the effect on others' perceptions is well-documented.

Real-world examples

  • •Politicians standing at podiums with wide arm gestures to project authority.
  • •Executives sitting with expansive postures in meetings to dominate the space.
  • •Interview coaches teaching candidates to adopt confident postures in waiting rooms.

Ethical guidelines

  • ●Projecting confidence you don't feel is a normal part of social interaction, not inherently manipulative.
  • ●Power posing becomes concerning when used to intimidate or dominate in contexts requiring equality.
  • ●The distinction between confidence and intimidation depends on context and intent.

How to defend against it

  • ►Recognize that someone's confident body language doesn't mean their argument is stronger.
  • ►Claim your own physical space — don't let someone else's expansiveness make you shrink.
  • ►Focus on the substance of what is being said, not the physical presence of the speaker.

References

  1. Carney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21(10), 1363–1368
    The original claim that two minutes of expansive posture raised testosterone, lowered cortisol and increased risk tolerance and felt power — the hormone claim the entry flags as debated; the first author has since publicly stated she no longer believes the effect is real.
  2. Ranehill, E., Dreber, A., Johannesson, M., Leiberg, S., Sul, S., & Weber, R. A. (2015). Assessing the robustness of power posing: No effect on hormones and risk tolerance in a large sample of men and women. Psychological Science, 26(5), 653–656
    Large replication finding no effect of power posing on hormones or risk tolerance; only self-reported feelings of power replicated — the basis for treating the physiological claim as unsupported.
  3. Hall, J. A., Coats, E. J., & LeBeau, L. S. (2005). Nonverbal behavior and the vertical dimension of social relations: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 131(6), 898–924
    The part of the entry that holds up — 'the effect on others' perceptions is well-documented': meta-analysis showing that expansive, open posture and related nonverbal cues are reliably perceived by observers as signals of dominance and higher status, even though actual status differences produce those cues far less consistently.
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