Expansive posture (power pose) → Economic risk tolerance
A rise in Expansive posture (power pose) does not identify a change in Economic risk tolerance.
Expansive posture is not a Holt–Laury intervention. The later RCTs are nulls on the gambling choice.
Randomized trial · High confidence · N=200
The association disappears when you account for other factors, like socioeconomic status or healthy-user bias.
Mechanism
Carney, Cuddy, and Yap (2010) used a single-trial gamble after two minutes of pose and reported more risk-taking in the expansive condition. Ranehill et al. (2015) measured risk-taking in a larger mixed-sex sample and found no difference. Barel, Shahrabani, Mahagna and colleagues (2024; PMID 39633430) randomly assigned 92 young adults to high- or low-power poses and used another single-trial gamble. Pose did not move the choice. If a pose changed risk, it would still not identify status or income. It does not clear the first gate.
Caveats
Self-reported feelings of power are a different outcome. Barel also reports that, among high-power posers only, a cortisol drop tracked the risky choice. That is a moderator inside a null main effect, not identification. Their task was one roll for 40 shekels, not a Holt–Laury list. This edge is the gambling claim.
Effect
qualitative. Carney 2010 reported more risk-taking. Ranehill 2015 (N=200) and Barel 2024 (N=92) found no main effect of pose.
Nodes
Named confounders
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Expansive posture (power pose) → Economic risk tolerance.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-pose-risk (atlas updated 2026-09-02).
Papers
- Power Posing: Brief Nonverbal Displays Affect Neuroendocrine Levels and Risk Tolerance
D. R. Carney, A. J. C. Cuddy, A. J. Yap · 2010 · Psychological Science
- Assessing the Robustness of Power Posing: No Effect on Hormones and Risk Tolerance in a Large Sample of Men and Women
E. Ranehill, A. Dreber, M. Johannesson, S. Leiberg, S. Sul, R. A. Weber · 2015 · Psychological Science
- The effects of power posing on neuroendocrine levels and risk-taking.
E Barel, S Shahrabani, L Mahagna, R Massalha, R Colodner, O Tzischinsky · 2024 · BMC psychology