We’re often told to “fake it till we make it,” which is mom-speak for “keep your chin up, stand tall, and smile, for goodness’ sake.”
We may not be feeling at the top of our game, but adopting the right posture is the key to slaying any obstacle. That’s science, right?
Well, no.
A week and a half ago, one of the co-authors of the study that introduced the idea of power posing—adopting assertive stances before stressful situations in order to boost confidence—revealed that she no longer trusts her own research.
In 2010, Dana Carney, Amy Cuddy, and another researcher published a study in “Psychological Science” with these findings: projecting physical confidence before a stressful situation can make you act more confident. Cuddy explained their findings in “Your body language shapes who you are,” the second most popular TED Talk ever.
But as it turns out, the research backing up the idea of power posing is pretty flimsy, according to Carney.
“I do not have any faith in the embodied effects of ‘power poses,’” she said in a post on her website. “I do not think the effect is real.”
Additionally, other studies with larger sample sizes have examined the phenomenon without finding evidence that it has any results. Any effects of power posing may be more about self-fulfilling prophesies than actual scientific fact. In short, the results were overblown.
So splaying yourself out like a starfish won’t help you ace the job interview or midterm. And speaking of bursting bubbles, smiling won’t necessarily make you feel happier either, as recent research has contradicted previous studies correlating a happy face with a happy mind.
This is good news for those of us who question the utility of grinning like an idiot in a madcap effort to bring joy to our lives at midnight in the bottom floor of the library. But, what’s a frazzled student to do instead to exude the confidence we all frequently need?
Well, changing our outward posture may not be as effective as previously thought, but psychologists recommend a variety of methods to change our actions by changing our thoughts.
When it comes to success, self-talk is critical. Hyping yourself up for a task can seem a little phony, but expecting high achievement from yourself is not unsensible. One study published in Frontiers in Psychology a few months ago found that participants who told themselves they would perform better the next time always outperformed those who didn’t.
Another study, this one from the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, found that employers preferred interviewees who had just spent time thinking about times when they were powerful. So when you need a boost, remember a time when you were at the top.
So, next time you’re facing a job interview or a midterm, skip the power posing and the cheetah grin and talk yourself up a bit. Expect yourself to succeed, and tell yourself so. And it never hurts to try smiling, too, for goodness’ sake.