Power posing

Power posing is a controversial <a href="/facts/Self-improvement/AU1AtMRC">self-improvement</a> technique or "<a href="/facts/Life_hack/ewPa1rUp">life hack</a>" in which people stand in a posture that they mentally associate with being powerful, in the hope of feeling more confident and behaving more assertively. Though the underlying science is disputed, its promoters continue to argue that people can foster positive life changes simply by assuming a "powerful" or "expansive" <a href="/facts/Posture_(psychology)/kAMeYYPX">posture</a> for a few minutes before an interaction in which confidence is needed. One popular image of the technique in practice is that of candidates "lock[ing] themselves in bathroom stalls before job interviews to make victory V's with their arms."
Power posing was first suggested in a 2010 paper by <a href="/facts/Dana_R._Carney/CnJeScpp">Dana R. Carney</a>, <a href="/facts/Amy_Cuddy/k2orUIyw">Amy Cuddy</a>, and Andy Yap in the journal <a href="/facts/Psychological_Science/I1qrqrfR">Psychological Science</a>, and came to prominence through a popular TED talk by Cuddy in 2012. However, in 2015 several researchers began reporting that the effect could not be replicated, and, in 2016, Carney issued a statement abandoning the theory. Cuddy, however, continued her research, claiming to have evidence that posture feedback can at least make people feel more powerful. Today, power posing is often cited as an example of the <a href="/facts/Replication_crisis/NkR07sxT">replication crisis</a> in the sciences.

Power posing open-in-new

Power posing