HOW TO SIGNAL TO YOUR BRAIN TO BE MORE CONFIDENT.
In this article, the writer, Peter Economy, talks about how the physical things we do with our bodies effect the chemical reactions in our brain, specifically in reference to confidence. He referenced psychologist Amy Cuddy's 2012 Ted Talk when she talked about body language and confidence. According to her research, assuming the "Power Pose" changes hormones in your brain that actually make you feel more confident; similar to how exercise releases dopamine and causes you to feel happy and less stressed when you work out. The article explains that the act of taking up space signals to your brain that you deserve to be in the space you are in thus releasing hormones to induce confidence in the body. Economy suggests that this information about the relationship between the physical and psychological experiences has been around for years although it is not widely known so as a tip, he suggests anytime that you are not feeling comfortable or unsure about something, broaden your shoulders, spread your legs and assume the space around you because when you do so, your body will naturally signal to your brain to release hormones that lead to confidence.
After reading this article, I began to think about myself and how I carry myself and the motions I carry out on a daily basis because I consider myself a confident person. What I noticed is that when I play basketball and speak on a stage in front of people, I always seem to have a grounded solid and wide position which is what the article is talking about. However, I do not know if my positioning is a result of my confidence or if my confidence is a result of my positioning. According to things we discussed in class, I do know that physical expression does play a role in psychological well being. For example, people who get Botox in their foreheads reportedly experience less anger because they cannot physically wrinkle their foreheads which is a customary facial expression for anger. So as a result, I think this article is valid and has good points especially in the world of work and business. I would have liked to see more information about what specific hormones are released and what neurotransmitters are involved in the chemical reactions of the "Power Pose" other than dopamine, but overall in a general sense, the article provided good information and is easy to navigate for someone who is not well versed in the world of biopsychology.
LINK: http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/want-to-be-more-confident-science-says-do-this.html
In this article, the writer, Peter Economy, talks about how the physical things we do with our bodies effect the chemical reactions in our brain, specifically in reference to confidence. He referenced psychologist Amy Cuddy's 2012 Ted Talk when she talked about body language and confidence. According to her research, assuming the "Power Pose" changes hormones in your brain that actually make you feel more confident; similar to how exercise releases dopamine and causes you to feel happy and less stressed when you work out. The article explains that the act of taking up space signals to your brain that you deserve to be in the space you are in thus releasing hormones to induce confidence in the body. Economy suggests that this information about the relationship between the physical and psychological experiences has been around for years although it is not widely known so as a tip, he suggests anytime that you are not feeling comfortable or unsure about something, broaden your shoulders, spread your legs and assume the space around you because when you do so, your body will naturally signal to your brain to release hormones that lead to confidence.
After reading this article, I began to think about myself and how I carry myself and the motions I carry out on a daily basis because I consider myself a confident person. What I noticed is that when I play basketball and speak on a stage in front of people, I always seem to have a grounded solid and wide position which is what the article is talking about. However, I do not know if my positioning is a result of my confidence or if my confidence is a result of my positioning. According to things we discussed in class, I do know that physical expression does play a role in psychological well being. For example, people who get Botox in their foreheads reportedly experience less anger because they cannot physically wrinkle their foreheads which is a customary facial expression for anger. So as a result, I think this article is valid and has good points especially in the world of work and business. I would have liked to see more information about what specific hormones are released and what neurotransmitters are involved in the chemical reactions of the "Power Pose" other than dopamine, but overall in a general sense, the article provided good information and is easy to navigate for someone who is not well versed in the world of biopsychology.
LINK: http://www.inc.com/peter-economy/want-to-be-more-confident-science-says-do-this.html
I recently listened to a podcast that tied certain physical actions to helping you feel more confident in any situation. The podcast that I listened to talked about the "power pose" and how standing in a certain way or positioning yourself in a way that your body recognizes as a stance of power or confidence will increase your confidence. One successful example of this could be the dog we talked about in class, where the dog was scared of walking close to the road and always had its tail between its legs. The owner then made a leash that held the dogs tail up and the dog began to act confidently. The podcast I listened to actually took it a step further though and with facts and research attempted to prove that its possible to tie confidence in with many physical actions(not just standing tall and etc.). The study stated that you can teach yourself almost any action to tie in with confidence. The podcast stated that all you have to do is preform this action(could be as small as touching your smallest finger to your thumb) whenever you feel confident and your body will adapt this as a feeling of confidence that you can use in situations where you don't feel confident. It seems as though this theory or view is beginning to gain lots of popularity.
ReplyDeleteI read a journal article on healthy habits which focused on physical body movement strategies that individuals can do in order to increase their hormone levels as a means of increasing their confidence and reducing anxiety. The article featured research which reveals that many powerful leaders in society possess similar hormone levels in their brains as well as similar mindsets. The research also showed that these powerful leaders possessed higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of cortisol. According to the article, when men and women both possess higher levels of testosterone it leads to higher feelings of confidence while lower levels of cortisol causes a decrease in anxiety and a greater ability to manage stress within individuals. From reading this article, I learned that an individuals’ testosterone and cortisol hormone levels have the capability of changing rapidly depending on the social, physical, and environmental factors around an individual. Additionally, I learned that an important physical strategy that individuals can utilize in order to positively impact testosterone and cortisol hormone levels is body language. The previous blog comment and the original blog post mentioned the body language research that research Amy Cuddy conducted on how body language impacts individuals’ hormones. Delving in deeper, I discovered that there was a research study performed on forty-two students which involved taking a saliva sample from each subject in order to measure their testosterone and cortisol levels, then each participant was asked to sit in a high power or a low power pose for two minutes. Afterwards, there was a second saliva sample taken from each participant as a means of measuring their hormone levels after performing specific body movements. The results of the research study showed that individuals who performed high power physical poses had an increase in testosterone by twenty percent and a decrease in cortisol levels by twenty-five percent. Additionally, the article explains that one method a person can perform in order to affect testosterone and cortisol levels (which would lead to higher confidence levels and reduced stress) is performing “The Wonder Woman” high power pose. The pose involves a person standing tall with their chest out and their hands being placed on their hips. The article suggests for individuals to perform the high power “Wonder Woman” pose for about two minutes every day in order to increase testosterone and reduce cortisol levels leading to enhanced feelings of confidence. I strongly believe that public school systems should implement body language exercises for students to perform everyday in the morning in order to help positively effect student’s hormone levels, which in turn could cause higher levels of confidence in students.
ReplyDeleteNever would I have assumed that body positioning such as the “Power Pose” would be influencing more than just other people around you, but your own brain! I remember watching Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk on how “Your body language shapes who you are”. She had mentioned, “When you pretend to be powerful, you are more likely to feel powerful”, which is similar to what Economy had discussed in this article. She also mentioned that body changes and role changes can impact your mind, causing you to feel more confident or less confident depending on the amount of testosterone and cortisol present as well as your role as an individual in a given situation. Until watching Cuddy’s TED talk, I never would have thought a person’s physical positioning could have an effect on their brain. I agree with you Davion as I too feel that this article made some valid points about body positioning and the impact it has on a person’s confidence. When it comes to myself, I’ve noticed that fixing my posture while I’m sitting or even walking usually gives me a sense of confidence in myself. Before focusing on my body position, there would be multiple times when I would be slouched over or sunk into my chair during class and my professors as well as my peers could tell that I did not feel comfortable or confident in presenting my answers. After discovering how body positioning can affect your confidence, I ended up working on ensuring that I continue to position my body in ways that I know make me feel more confident while I am giving presentations, speaking to new people, or even just simply walking through the hallway.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me a lot of what Dr. McGinley talked about in the emotions lecture. If you remember, he talked about nonverbal gestures and gave the example of anxious dogs, just like Caleb described. When dogs are anxious they tend to put their tail between their legs, communicating that feeling of fear to the brain. By using another leash to keep the dog's tail in the air, it heirs a more confident stride. The feedback from the tail signals to the brain a feeling of confidence and thus the dog begins acting as such. Like this article suggests, the same can be said for humans. Our body language communicates to the brain what types of emotions we will feel, whether they be confidence, pride, anxiety, fear, etc. It's interesting to see such a similarity between dogs and us on a neurological level; how such basic poses can influence how we feel and interact on a daily basis. As I tend to be a shy or introverted person, perhaps I should try out the "power pose" and see if it will change how I feel and interact in my everyday environments.
ReplyDeleteI found this article interesting due to the fact that it can be so easily relatable to college students. The example that came to my mind was during exam time when many students feel nervous about test even though they spend countless hours preparing for them. Upon entering the exam room many students, including myself, tend to become antisocial in order to focus and cram as much information as possible before the test starts. There is always some question on the exam that troubles people and this is when a person’s confidence decreases. However, according to this article when we are not feeling comfortable or unsure about something, broaden your shoulders and spread your legs to assume the space around you can become important. Because I am the type of person to become less confident on my answering abilities especially on those harder exams I found these tips very useful and plan on using them during my next test. After reading this article and applying these tips into my life I can better control my test anxiety and increase my confidence.
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