Strike a Pose: The Posture That Is Romantically Appealing

Source: Image by Sammy-Sander from Pixabay

We are often unaware of why certain people catch our eye and cause us to look twice. Apparently, certain types of posture poses are powerful predictors of attraction. Research explains.

Postural Power Posing

Tanya Vacharkulksemsuk et al. (2016) explored what type of nonverbal behavior is most attractive upon first impression.[i] They found that postural expansiveness, described as expanding one’s body in physical space, was the most romantically appealing. In their study, speed daters rapidly flipped through photos of potential partners, choosing which ones they would like to meet for a date. They were significantly more likely to choose photos of people who displayed an expansive (versus contractive) nonverbal posture.

Vacharkulksemsuk et al. note that expansiveness can make a romantic candidate appealing through making them appear more dominant, increasing their chances of being selected as a potential mate in a world of digital dating where first impressions are often made in a split second.

The Allure of Expansiveness

Vacharkulksemsuk et al. explain that people displaying expansive, open postures pose with a stretched torso, widespread limbs, and greater enlargement of an occupied space, causes them to be viewed as dominant and open. Contractive, closed postures, in contrast, include holding limbs held close to the torso and inward collapse of the body, minimizing occupied space. Regarding gender differences, they found the romantic preference for expansiveness was true for both men and women, with men receiving more of an advantage from displaying expansive posture even more than women.

But there is more to the story, physically that is.

Reading the Body and the Face

Thora R. Bjornsdottir et al. (2024) found that when it comes to perception, faces and bodies are judged differently.[ii] They note that bodies mainly impact judgment of status and ability, with faces impacting perception of warmth. They found that bodies display more signals of a person’s social class than faces, with shape providing more of a clue than clothing, supporting the notion that bodies (versus faces) influence judgments of status or ability-related attributes.

Breaking it down even further, Bjornsdottir et al. note that social class was inferred more from shape cues including posture, body shape, and shape of clothing, than from clothing details. They explain that clothing social class cues may be easier to fake than other nonverbal behavior, because anyone can strategically dress the part, obscuring true social class membership. Also, the perceived attractiveness of bodies, like faces, facilitated accurate social class judgments, consistent with stereotypes linking status and attractiveness. We wonder whether postural expansiveness plays a role here as well, given the emphasis on body shape, not clothing, and given the fact that posture is listed as an indication of social class.

In addition to face and body cues, some of the most attractive personal traits are invisible. Kindness, respect, compassion, and other positive qualities are outward manifestations of inner beauty. Because everyone comes as a package, it is always a wise investment of time to peel back a flashy exterior and look below the surface.