Abstract
The present study explores the effects of power posing on cognitive performance. Prior studies have shown that power poses, which involve expansiveness and openness of the limbs, prepare the individual to react faster and more accurately to stimuli. However, weak poses that involve contractive postures and closed limbs prime individuals to be more inhibited and vigilant, so they perform slower at tasks that require short reaction times, but more accurately on tasks that demand response inhibition. Our study evaluates the effects of strong and weak power poses within individuals. Participants were randomly assigned a strong pose and a weak pose in two separate sessions. During the session, participants were asked to hold a pose for 2 minutes, and then perform a task on the computer. This procedure was repeated three times in each session. Tasks were randomly presented. One of the tasks was the Stop Signal task which involves identifying two kinds of shapes when they appear on the screen, and withholding responses when the shapes are paired with a sound. Another was the global/local task, where small shapes form big shapes and participants are prompted to identify either the big shape or the little shapes that make up the big shape. The last task was the N-back task which tests working memory. Participants are presented with a sequence of letters and must respond when a target letter matches a letter either 1, 2, or 3 letters back in a sequence.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. W. Matthew Collins, Dr. Leanne Boucher
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-4-2014 1:00 PM
End Date
4-4-2014 5:30 PM
Body Position and Attention
Alvin Sherman Library
The present study explores the effects of power posing on cognitive performance. Prior studies have shown that power poses, which involve expansiveness and openness of the limbs, prepare the individual to react faster and more accurately to stimuli. However, weak poses that involve contractive postures and closed limbs prime individuals to be more inhibited and vigilant, so they perform slower at tasks that require short reaction times, but more accurately on tasks that demand response inhibition. Our study evaluates the effects of strong and weak power poses within individuals. Participants were randomly assigned a strong pose and a weak pose in two separate sessions. During the session, participants were asked to hold a pose for 2 minutes, and then perform a task on the computer. This procedure was repeated three times in each session. Tasks were randomly presented. One of the tasks was the Stop Signal task which involves identifying two kinds of shapes when they appear on the screen, and withholding responses when the shapes are paired with a sound. Another was the global/local task, where small shapes form big shapes and participants are prompted to identify either the big shape or the little shapes that make up the big shape. The last task was the N-back task which tests working memory. Participants are presented with a sequence of letters and must respond when a target letter matches a letter either 1, 2, or 3 letters back in a sequence.
