Effects of body posture depend on the content of thoughts: Confidence, validation and matching
Loading...
Date
2012-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The Ohio State University
Abstract
Cues from the body can be used to update mental states, a phenomenon known as embodiment. For example, posing in an expansive versus contractive posture has been shown to increase feelings of power and confidence. Nevertheless, the mechanism that underlies this effect is unclear, because different factors may influence emotions and attitudes gained from certain body postures. The body postures themselves and any thoughts someone has before or while in a body position may play a role in influencing subsequent affect and attitudes. There are two mechanisms proposed in previous research. When assuming an expansive position before given a message, participants seem to pay less attention to subsequent messages. Relevant research also illustrates that ease of processing can increase confidence and the messages participants receive or create may interact with an embodiment task to act like a cue to think less. However, self-validation occurs when participants receive a message and then assume certain body positions. According to self-validation, one will feel positive when having positive thoughts about the self in an expansive position, because expansive positions create confidence in thoughts that are currently in the mind. One may feel less positive if thinking negative thoughts about the self while in this expansive position. To investigate this timing difference, 128 participants were asked to write either about a task they have excelled at or failed at, and were also asked to stand and sit in either expansive or contractive positions. Their current affect and self-attitudes were measured. The results indicated that when put into body positions first, a cognitive dissonance “matching” effect occurred after the writing task was introduced. Those participants whose posture “matched” the subsequent writing task thought less than those whose posture and writing did not match in valence. Those who performed the thought direction induction writing task before the position induction task exhibited self-validation effects in the attitudes measures. This project has implications for embodiment research and task salience; the manipulation of posture timing in relation to a thought direction induction writing task about the self is a unique contribution to the field.
Description
2012 Psychology Colloquium Second Place Award
Keywords
embodiment, cognition, confidence, validation, matching