More from these Authors

• Article | Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

  Visual Attention to Powerful Postures: People Avert Their Gaze from Nonverbal Dominance Displays

  Elise Holland, Elizabeth Baily Wolf, Christine Looser and Amy Cuddy

  This paper investigates whether humans avert their gaze from individuals engaging in nonverbal displays of dominance. Although past studies demonstrate that both humans and nonhuman primates direct more visual attention to high-status others than low-status others, nonhuman primates avert their gaze when high-status conspecifics engage in nonverbal dominance displays (e.g., chest pounding). In two experiments, participants were eye-tracked while viewing photographs of men and women adopting either dominant, high-power (i.e., expansive and open) or submissive, low-power (i.e., contractive and closed) nonverbal postures. Results demonstrated that humans, like primates, avert their gaze from the faces and upper bodies of individuals displaying dominance compared to those displaying submissiveness. Not only did participants look less often at the faces and upper bodies of dominance-displaying individuals, they also fixated on these regions for shorter durations. Our findings ultimately suggest that nonverbal dominance displays influence humans’ visual attention in ways that are likely to shape how social interactions unfold.

  Keywords: Nonverbal Behavior; eye-tracking; power and influence; dominance; Nonverbal Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Power and Influence;

  Citation:

  Holland, Elise, Elizabeth Baily Wolf, Christine Looser, and Amy Cuddy. "Visual Attention to Powerful Postures: People Avert Their Gaze from Nonverbal Dominance Displays." Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 68 (January 2017): 60–67.  View Details

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• Book | 2015

  Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges

  Amy Cuddy

  We often meet life's challenges with fear and anxiety. We fail to be our best and end up feeling regretful and powerless. In Presence, Amy Cuddy presents a scientifically grounded way to align our speech and nonverbal behavior with our beliefs, abilities, and values to produce a synchronized inner state that resonates and connects with others. In this way, we can capture the inner strength we need to successfully navigate life's most difficult situations. Filled with stories of people facing a range of challenges, from going on job interviews to asking someone out; scientific research on how our bodies change our minds; and revolutionary strategies like "power posing," Presence is a must-read for anyone yearning to project their true power.

  Keywords: Negotiation; Attitudes; Emotions;

  Citation:

  Cuddy, Amy. Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2015.  View Details

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• Article | Personality and Individual Differences | December 2015

  On Wealth and the Diversity of Friendships: High Social Class People around the World Have Fewer International Friends

  Maurice H. Yearwood, Amy Cuddy, Nishtha Lambaa, Wu Youyoua, Ilmo van der Lowe, Paul K. Piff, Charles Gronin, Pete Fleming, Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Dacher Keltner and Aleksandr Spectre

  Having international social ties carries many potential advantages, including access to novel ideas and greater commercial opportunities. Yet little is known about who forms more international friendships. Here, we propose social class plays a key role in determining people's internationalism. We conducted two studies to test whether social class is related positively to internationalism (the building social class hypothesis) or negatively to internationalism (the restricting social class hypothesis). In Study 1, we found that among individuals in the United States, social class was negatively related to percentage of friends on Facebook that are outside the United States. In Study 2, we extended these findings to the global level by analyzing country-level data on Facebook friends formed in 2011 (nearly 50 billion friendships) across 187 countries. We found that people from higher social class countries (as indexed by GDP per capita) had lower levels of internationalism—that is, they made more friendships domestically than abroad.

  Keywords: friendships; Social Class; internationalism; Wealth; Relationships; Globalization;

  Citation:

  Yearwood, Maurice H., Amy Cuddy, Nishtha Lambaa, Wu Youyoua, Ilmo van der Lowe, Paul K. Piff, Charles Gronin, Pete Fleming, Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Dacher Keltner, and Aleksandr Spectre. "On Wealth and the Diversity of Friendships: High Social Class People around the World Have Fewer International Friends." Personality and Individual Differences 87 (December 2015): 224–229.  View Details

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