Adopting expansive 'power poses' for two minutes increases testosterone, decreases cortisol, and increases risk tolerance.
In 2010, Harvard psychologist Amy Cuddy published a TED talk and peer-reviewed studies claiming that standing in expansive poses for just two minutes triggers hormonal changes: testosterone rises, cortisol drops, and people take more risks. The work became wildly popular, spawning corporate training programs, MBA classes, and self-help books. However, subsequent attempts to replicate Cuddy's findings encountered problems. A 2015 replication attempt by a separate lab involving 200 participants found no effect of power posing on testosterone or cortisol levels. A 2016 meta-analysis examining 55 studies concluded that while power posing may slightly increase feelings of power (self-reported), there's no reliable evidence for hormonal or behavioural changes. Critics pointed to issues with Cuddy's original study: small sample sizes, questionable statistical methods, and inability of other labs to produce the same hormonal findings. Cuddy herself has acknowledged concerns about the replication attempts and softened her original claims. The 'power pose' phenomenon illustrates how compelling narratives, TED talk fame, and intuitive appeal can drive widespread adoption of findings that don't hold up under scrutiny. It's become a textbook case study in the replication crisis.