Fix Your Posture, Fix Your Confidence
Christopher Philip
Study after study shows clearly that how we hold our bodies affect the perceptions of ourselves.
In one such study conducted led by Pablo Briñol,University Autónoma, Madrid, Spain it was found that a confident posture affected the confidence with which people assert themselves.
In the study, subjects were manipulated to hold either a sited confident posture by puffing out their chest, back erect or a slouching, doubtful posture by leaning forward, back curved. As they were seated in one posture or the other, they were instructed to write out a number of measures and report their self-evaluations.
Amongst the tasks included rating themselves:
– As a candidate for the job market
– An interviewee for a new position
– A good performer on-the-job
– A satisfied future employee
Results showed that when people adopted the ‘confident’ postures, they didn’t necessarily report more positive attributes, but when they did, they held them more certainly. In other words, the posture used affected the confidence of their assertions and those who held a confident posture, were more confident about their answers. The reverse held for the slouchers or ‘doubtful’ postures. This group didn’t necessarily report more negative attributes, but they did carry more doubt about their answers.
The authors remind us that this clearly demonstrates the self-validation hypothesis:
“These postures did not influence the number or quality of thoughts listed, but did have an impact on the confidence with which people held their thoughts.”
Resources
Pablo Briñol; Richard E. Petty and Benjamin Wagner. Body Posture Effects on Self-Evaluation: A Self-Validation Approach. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2019. 39(6): 1099-0992. DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.607. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.607