Amy Cuddy's 2012 TED Talk keeps coming back to me.
Watch it, and if you don't quite understand the fuss, you may not have paid close enough attention to what she says around the mid-way point (around 9 minutes in). We all know that our body language communicates a great deal to others, but Cuddy's research suggests that, maybe more importantly, it also affects us. That's right, our body language can change our selves - psychologically and believe it or not, physically - in this case in the production of two key hormones, testosterone and cortisol. Testosterone communicates dominance, while cortisol sends stress messages. To ourselves. Fascinating, right? And now, the age old question I encourage my students to ask, So what? This kind of science - integrating psychology with biology - can tell us so much more about what we instinctively felt, but had no 'hard science' to back it up. The answers to So what? are endless, and only beginning to emerge. Here are some thoughts:
Oh, and welcome to my first blog post! Let me know what you think. Karen Caldwell http://kecaldwell.weebly.com/
4 Comments
Zinnia
12/16/2015 06:17:18
Thank you Karen, this is a great post as I have watched this TED Talk Video before and watching it after your post has truly helped me appreciate it more. I have always been a lover of "Wonder Women" and its obvious the reason why - lol! Seriously I am a big believer of body language and how it affects our outcomes. Keep up the great, meaningful posts and sharing them with your students. Great Work.
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Sam
12/16/2015 12:45:30
My experience with knowing you was through Lori. I remember that she mentioned how influential you were in giving her the confidence to take leading roles at UAEU. Watching this TED talk made me remember that conversation I had with Lori and, in away, you were just like Wonder Woman who inspired and boosted confidence in others. I would say it is always good to fake it until you BECOME it.
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Robin
12/16/2015 20:49:57
Karen, YOU have always represented confidence to me in my world. I love that you have started a blog and I will cherish each word.
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Jay
12/16/2015 21:12:01
Thanks for the reminder, Karen--I had been made aware of Cuddy's work and talk from a presentation by Tim Murphey here at UM. Good luck with the blogging! One question, though--why is the font so light?
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