It is pretty popular for people to explore the idea of taking power postures to achieve success in interpersonal interactions, especially negotiations, but is it empirically valid? A recent study by Drs. Joseph Cesario and David Johnson wades into this debate with a resounding rejection of the idea of power postures’ efficacy. In a series…
Read MoreNonverbal Behavior in Close Relationships
We keep talking about nonverbal behavior with strangers, but what role does it have in close interpersonal contexts? There is plenty of reason to think that this is important! We pick up on our romantic partner’s nonverbal behavior, even if we don’t realize that we are doing it. In a recent paper, a team of…
Read MoreCorruption: Could it be Possible to Recognize on Faces?
Many of us worry about corruption amongst political elites, but could it be possible to actually recognize it in their faces? In a pretty creative study, a team of psychologists from the California Institute of Technology sought to explore whether people could detect evidence of corruption by government officials by providing them with pictures of…
Read MorePrompted to Mimic Faces
Facial mimicry is known to be central to understanding the emotional states of others, but this exciting new study looks at the conditions under which we engage in such activity. Emotional recognition is incredibly central to social interactions, and facial mimicry allows us to do so instantaneously. However, there is dispute over when we spontaneously…
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