Posing for Power

The next time you catch yourself slouching or slinking lower in your swivel chair, try to remember this: according to a recent study published in Psychological Science (and reported on by FINS), when men and women strike a powerful physical pose such as kicking back in their chair and throwing their feet up on their desk, they show a spike in their level of testosterone, "a hormone that cultivates dominant behavior, muscle growth and risk tolerance." And, "at the same time, they show decreases in cortisol, a hormone that is released as a response to stress."

That is, dudes and ladies who take on powerful postures actually gain more power -- as well as a greater appetite for risk: "After the initial posing experiment, each of the 42 subjects was given $2 and the choice of gambling the money on a 50/50 chance to win $4. Some 86% of those who had just struck powerful stances took the bet, compared to 60% of the subjects who had been in weaker positions."

Which begs the question: where's your body right now, creating power or losing it?