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Comment by yawaramin | Hacker News Reader

I'm sure there's already been a discussion on how much of the effect of power poses is due to confirmation bias or placebo effect, as opposed to some other physiological or psychosomatic reason. Especially since in the original study the subjects weren't actually told what they were doing, but in Dr Cuddy's talks and books they explicitly are.

It's just curious to me that she and Dr Fiske wouldn't catch this crucial difference immediately. Effectively it turns power poses into little more than 'the power of positive thinking'.

That said, personal attacks and especially those focusing on her brain function really need to stop. Psychologists treating each other like shit is not just ironic, it's a disgrace. If they can't even behave properly with each other, how can we expect them to treat patients properly?

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One note; in general, I think we tend to diminish finding when we find out that the placebo effect is partly behind them. Wrongly, in my opinion. Better reactions might be, "Wow, we take this action and our bodies/brains take care of the rest of the effect through some placebo magic? That's amazing!!"

That's a great point. No one should be able to argue with Dr Cuddy if she decides to make her living pushing this 'placebo-trigger' technique.

But doesn't pointing out a placebo effect also have power? I know the placebo effect still exists even if you're aware of it being placebo, but does it lessen? And what if it's accompanied by shaming?

Meaning, say the power pose effect doesn't exist. But early on, it's exciting and new, and there's a placebo effect (which is fine!), but people also think it's real.

But then studies get replicated, and there's well-known doubt on whether the effect is real in a non-placebo manner. There might still be a placebo effect, but does it shrink?

And then there's a lot of controversy and the study is dragged through the mud, and power poses are mocked. Might the placebo effect be lessened even further (or obliterated) from this?

Could this be true even if it was originally valid and not just placebo?

Too many ifs, I can't really take a guess at that :-)

I think you're moving into territory in human psychology that nobody really understands.

For the time being, the answer is probably "if it works for you, then keep doing it." If power posing before an important meeting is how you psyche yourself up to be unafraid and effective in the meeting, then why not keep doing it, even if it doesn't seem to work for everyone?

Knowing the replication problems, I won't suggest power posing as a general thing. Maybe I will tell someone to try a bunch of things including power posing, and tell them to keep the things that they think are working.

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