Author
Amy Cuddy
The social psychologist behind research on warmth and competence, who wrote on being present under pressure.
1 book on BookYol
The story and the impact
Amy Cuddy is a social psychologist who taught at Harvard Business School. Early in her career she worked with Susan Fiske and Peter Glick on the research showing that people judge others, and whole groups, along two dimensions: warmth and competence. That finding is now a standard reference in the study of first impressions and stereotypes.
Her 2012 TED talk on body language and power posing became one of the most watched talks on the site. Presence, published in 2015, widened the subject: how to bring your real thoughts, feelings and values into high-pressure moments such as an interview or a pitch, instead of watching yourself from outside.
The power-posing research at the centre of the talk was later questioned. A larger replication in 2015 did not find the hormone and risk-taking effects, and in 2016 the original study's lead author, Dana Carney, said publicly that she no longer believed the effects were real. Cuddy has argued that posture still affects how powerful people feel, a narrower claim that remains debated.
The signature
Cuddy writes from research outward, with stories from readers and interviewees beside the studies. Her idea of presence is not performance: it is being synchronised, so that what you say, how you sound and how you stand all come from the same place. The useful core for a reader does not depend on posture at all: prepare by recalling your values and your own story, and enter the room as yourself.
The questions they work on
- Why do people judge warmth before competence, and what does that mean at work?
- What stops us from showing what we know in the moments that matter most?
- How much does the body shape the mind, as well as the other way round?
Thinking tools
- Personal PresenceUses and explains it
Personal presence, as Amy Cuddy defines it in Presence (2015), is the state of being attuned to and able to comfortably express your true thoughts, feelings, values and potential, especially in high-pressure moments such as interviews, pitches and difficult conversations.
Learn it: Build Charisma, Station 10 - Warmth and CompetenceUses and explains it
Warmth and competence are the two dimensions on which people judge others, according to the stereotype content model of Susan Fiske, Amy Cuddy and Peter Glick: whether someone means well toward us and whether they can act on it, with warmth usually judged first.
Limits and fair objections
Holding an expansive 'power pose' for two minutes raises testosterone, lowers cortisol and makes people more willing to take risks.
A replication with a much larger sample did not find the hormone or risk-taking effects, and the original paper's lead author later said she did not believe the effects were real. What may survive is a small effect on how powerful people say they feel, which is still debated. As BookYol reads it, posture is not a shortcut to confidence; the book's advice on values and preparation stands without it.
Stands on: research · BookYol's reading
Evaluated against: Ranehill et al., 'Assessing the Robustness of Power Posing', Psychological Science, 2015; Dana Carney, statement on power poses, 2016