Holding a 'power pose' for two minutes changes your hormones and makes you bolder.
Verdict: refuted
A large replication found no hormonal or risk-taking effect; only a subjective feeling of power survived.
What the evidence shows
The original study (Carney, Cuddy & Yap, 2010) reported that two minutes of expansive 'power poses' raised testosterone, lowered cortisol, and increased financial risk-taking — a claim that spread worldwide through a hugely popular TED talk.
A much larger pre-registered replication (Ranehill et al., 2015) found no effect on hormones or risk tolerance; only self-reported feelings of power replicated. One of the original authors later publicly stated she no longer believes the hormonal and behavioural effects are real. The strong physiological claim is refuted; at most, adopting an expansive posture can make you feel more powerful in the moment.
Sources
Carney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J. C., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance.
Psychological Science, 21(10), 1363–1368
Reported that expansive poses raised testosterone, lowered cortisol, and increased risk-taking (a finding later not replicated).
DOI: 10.1177/0956797610383437 →Ranehill, E., Dreber, A., Johannesson, M., Leiberg, S., Sul, S., & Weber, R. A. (2015). Assessing the robustness of power posing: No effect on hormones and risk tolerance in a large sample of men and women.
Psychological Science, 26(5), 653–656
In a larger, pre-registered sample, power posing had no effect on hormones or risk tolerance; only felt power replicated.
DOI: 10.1177/0956797614553946 →