Body posture has been studied for centuries as a form of non-verbal communication that reflects our emotions and social attitudes. Since Charles Darwin’s pioneering studies on the expression of emotions, it has been recognized that the way we move and position our bodies can convey a lot about how we feel. However, modern research has begun to investigate how our natural posture might relate to stable personality traits.
A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology has taken another step in this direction, exploring the relationship between natural body posture and antisocial personality traits, such as social dominance and psychopathy. Through a series of five investigations, the authors have shown that upright, open posture may be a reflection of tendencies toward social control and manipulation, while more closed postures could be linked to submissive attitudes.
This finding opens a new avenue of study into how our body, in its most natural posture, can offer clues about our way of interacting with what surrounds us. Throughout this article, We will see how body posture is related to antisocial traits and what implications these results have in the field of social psychology.
Body posture has been recognized for centuries as an essential form of non-verbal communication. From gestures to the way we physically position ourselves in a space, the body transmits messages about our emotions, thoughts and attitudes. Charles Darwin, in his work on the expression of emotions in humans and animals, already highlighted the role of body language in emotional communication. This idea has been developed in numerous investigations highlighting how certain movements or postures can transmit dominance, submission or even anxiety.
However, much of the research surrounding body posture has focused on its transient nature, that is, how a person can modify their posture momentarily based on a specific situation.
A notable example is the phenomenon of “power posing”, popularized by Amy Cuddy which suggests that adopting expansive, open postures can temporarily influence a person’s behavior and emotions, increasing their sense of power and confidence. These postures, although powerful at certain moments, rather reflect momentary states of mind or perception.
However, there is an important difference between postures adopted consciously or temporarily and the habitual or natural posture that each individual maintains without thinking. While temporary postures may reflect immediate emotions or attitudes, natural, everyday postures may be more deeply connected to stable personality traits.
Recent research has focused on understanding whether this daily and unconscious posture is capable of revealing more ingrained aspects of a person’s psychology, including their orientation toward social dominance or even, in some cases, antisocial behavior. This approach expands the scope of posture research beyond the momentary, toward something more constant and representative of individual character.
The study on body posture and antisocial personality
A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology explored the relationship between natural body posture and antisocial personality traits through a series of five investigations. In the first study, 369 people participated and were asked to take photographs of themselves in a relaxed standing posture from different angles (front, back and sides). These images were analyzed with the OpenPOSE tool, which measures key angles and positions of the body, such as the neck, shoulders, spine and hips.
In addition to postural analysis, Participants completed personality questionnaires that assessed characteristics such as social dominance orientation, psychopathy, empathy, and anger control. The results revealed a significant correlation between an upright posture, characterized by a straight neck and open body posture, and antisocial personality traits. Those who adopted more upright and open postures tended to score higher on traits such as primary psychopathy and social dominance orientation, and lower on empathy and anger control.
To check whether this relationship remained stable over time, the researchers conducted a second follow-up study with 107 participants from the initial study. After five weeks, the postures were re-evaluated and the results were consistent with the initial ones; Individuals’ postures did not vary significantly, suggesting that natural posture is a stable trait, not a transient state.
This finding reinforces the belief that habitual body posture is not only a physical issue, but reflects deep and stable personality traits, particularly those related to social dominance and antisocial behavior.
The relationship between posture, dominance and antisociality
The results of the study not only demonstrated that upright posture is stable over time, but also confirmed its link with behaviors associated with dominance and social control, as we have already discussed. In the third study carried out, the researchers analyzed whether the participants’ natural postures could be interpreted as dominant or submissive postures. To do this, they asked 104 participants to deliberately adopt dominant and submissive positions, without receiving specific instructions beyond these labels.
The researchers used an algorithm to classify these postures based on angles measured in the photos, such as neck tilt, shoulder width, and overall body alignment. They then applied this algorithm to the natural postures obtained in the first study. The results were clear: participants’ upright and open postures were identified as dominant postures with an accuracy of 75%. Furthermore, those who displayed dominant postures in their natural position tended to score higher on antisocial personality traits, such as primary psychopathy and social dominance orientation.
Dominant posture, characterized by a straight neck and upright body, appears to send unconscious signals of power and control in social interactions. This open and expansive position reflects greater self-confidence and a tendency to impose one’s will on others, aspects that are directly related to antisocial characteristics such as manipulation and lack of empathy.
This finding reinforces the hypothesis that a person’s habitual posture can reveal a lot about their personality and social behavior. More upright and open postures not only suggest dominance, but also a more competitive and, in some cases, manipulative approach to human interactions.
Possible implications and limitations of the study
This body of research provides strong evidence for the relationship of natural body posture with antisocial personality traits, such as social dominance and primary psychopathy. However, it is important to recognize some limitations of the study.
The participants were, for the most part, young Canadian university students which raises the need to replicate these findings in more diverse populations. It would be relevant to investigate whether the results are maintained in different age groups, cultural contexts or even in people with different socioeconomic levels.
Another limitation is that The study focused mainly on upright posture and its relationship with dominance traits. This leaves open the possibility that other natural postures, such as slouching or leaning, may be related to other aspects of personality, such as introversion or anxiety. In fact, previous studies have shown that people with depression tend to adopt more slouched postures, suggesting that body posture may be a reflection of a wide range of psychological characteristics.
Finally, although the study shows a clear correlation between posture and antisocial traits, The authors emphasize that causality cannot be inferred from these results. That is, adopting an upright posture will not make a person more dominant or antisocial. The main message of this study is that habitual posture is a reflection of our personality, but the link between body and mind is more complex and deserves to be explored in future research with more advanced and concrete methods.
