Sitting up straight in your chair isn’t just good for your posture – it also gives you more confidence in your own thoughts, according to a new study co-authored by Richard Petty, professor of psychology at Ohio State University.
Researchers found that people who were told to sit up straight were more likely to believe thoughts they wrote down while in that posture concerning whether they were qualified for a job.
On the other hand, those who were slumped over their desks were less likely to accept these written-down feelings about their own qualifications.
Petty says the results show how our body posture can affect not only what others think about us, but also how we think about ourselves.
“Most of us were taught that sitting up straight gives a good impression to other people. But it turns out that our posture can also affect how we think about ourselves. If you sit up straight, you end up convincing yourself by the posture you’re in.”
