Posing, Puzzles, and Performance

Power posing, or the act of assuming a certain body position to influence confidence and power, has the ability to effect participants’ actions or feelings in a situations of achievement, power, and performance (Bargh et... [ view full abstract ]

Power posing, or the act of assuming a certain body position to influence confidence and power, has the ability to effect participants’ actions or feelings in a situations of achievement, power, and performance (Bargh et al., 1996; Briñol et al., 2016; Cesario et al., 2006). The current research measured participants’ performance and confidence based on a given power pose. Participants were asked to assume and hold a pose (dominant, submissive, or control). The dominant condition, also known as the “superman pose,” is more expansive and open: participants place their hands up on their hips and spread their feet. The submissive condition asked participants to take up less space by contracting their form, wrapping their arms around themselves and crossing their feet. Finally, the control power pose required participants to just stand with their arms at their sides. Participants were then asked to report their confidence on their expected performance of a puzzle task. Next, participants were given a limited amount of time to complete a difficult wooden block puzzle. It was hypothesized that the dominant power pose would elicit greater confidence and less time to complete the puzzle compared to the submissive and control poses. Prior to completing the puzzle, participants showed higher confidence in the dominant power pose condition; however, after the puzzle task, these confidence scores decreased significantly. Power posing did not influence puzzle performance or puzzle completion. However, the puzzle task did significantly decrease the reported confidence of participants. It is possible that the puzzle task was so frustrating that it deflated participant confidence, even if they had maintained a dominant pose prior to the task.