Stand tall, but don't put your feet up: Universal and culturally-specific effects of expansive postures on power

The interpersonal nature of power and status

“…The interaction of intrapersonal characteristics and relational context represents another promising area for further work on power's effects. Researchers should also consider how the broader social context, such as culture, affects both the consequences [54] and inferences of power and status [55][56]. Finally, it is important to note that the two topics covered in this review, interpersonal consequences and inferences, have been differentially studied in regards to power versus status.…”

When, why, and how do powerholders “feel the power”? Examining the links between structural and psychological power and reviving the connection between power and responsibility

“…With respect to culture, Zhong, Magee, Maddux, and Galinsky (2006) theorized that culture would be expected to moderate the effects of psychological power (see also Anderson & Brion, 2014;Magee & Smith, 2013). Consistent with this notion, Park and colleagues (Park, Streamer, Huang, & Galinsky, 2013) found that expansive postures symbolizing self-expression, independence, and entitlement were associated with power for individuals of Western culture but not for individuals of East Asian culture. Thus, new research is needed into the ways in which the cognitive network of power may vary across individuals and cultures, as the current findings suggesting the strong association between power and agentic traits and behaviors may be specific to Western cultures or to individuals who personally hold values that associate power with entitlement.…”

Power vs. persuasion: can open body postures embody openness to persuasion?

“…This increase in subjective feelings of power was accompanied by other power-related outcomes such as increased accessibility of power-related words (Huang, Galinsky, Gruenfeld, & Guillory, 2011;Park et al, 2013), increased risk taking (Carney et al, 2010), and enhanced performance during a self-4 presentation task (Cuddy, Wilmuth, Yap, & Carney, 2015). However, the evidence for the effect of power postures is mixed (for example, using a high powered sample, Ranehill et al did not replicate the Carney et al effects on risk taking) and many of the existing studies are underpowered.…”

“…Open body postures can lead people to feel more powerful subjectively (Carney et al, 2010;Park, Streamer, Huang, & Galinsky, 2013;Ranehill et al, 2015). This increase in subjective feelings of power was accompanied by other power-related outcomes such as increased accessibility of power-related words (Huang, Galinsky, Gruenfeld, & Guillory, 2011;Park et al, 2013), increased risk taking (Carney et al, 2010), and enhanced performance during a self-4 presentation task (Cuddy, Wilmuth, Yap, & Carney, 2015).…”