Bodily feedback: expansive and upward posture facilitates the experience of positive affect.
Most emotion theories recognise the importance of the body in expressing and constructing emotions. Focusing beyond the face, the present research adds needed empirical data on the effect of static full body postures on positive/negative affect. In Studies 1 (N = 110) and 2 (N = 79), using a bodily feedback paradigm, we manipulated postures to test causal effects on affective and physiological responses to emotionally ambiguous music. Across both studies among U.S. participants, we find the strongest support for an effect of bodily postures that are expansive and oriented upward on positive affect. In addition, an expansive and upward pose also led to greater cardiac vagal reactivity but these changes in parasympathetic activity were not related to affective changes (Study 2). In line with embodied theories, these results provide additional support for the role of postural input in constructing affect. Discussion highlights the relevance of these findings for the study of religious practices during which the postures studied are often adopted.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- Posture
- Humans
- Feedback
- Emotions
- 5205 Social and personality psychology
- 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
- 4206 Public health
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology
Citation
Published In
DOI
EISSN
ISSN
Publication Date
Volume
Issue
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Social Psychology
- Posture
- Humans
- Feedback
- Emotions
- 5205 Social and personality psychology
- 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
- 4206 Public health
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology