Does posture affect attractiveness?

Expansive, open posture (stretched torso, open arms, taking up space) is associated with higher romantic attractiveness, and the effect appears stronger for men than women. In Vacharkulksemsuk et al. (2016, PNAS): in a speed-dating field study, each one-standard-deviation increase in coded postural expansiveness raised the odds of a "yes" by ~76% (OR 1.76); in a GPS dating-app field study, expansive profiles drew 27% more yes-responses overall, and among men 87% of the yes-responses they received went to expansive (vs. contracted) photos (vs. 53% for women). The effect was statistically mediated by perceived dominance. Slouched/contracted posture is the low end of the same scale and is associated with lower appeal. (Evidence is from a single 2016 paper plus a general posture/dominance review, so treat the specific magnitudes as suggestive rather than firmly replicated.)

Evidence & sources

• Vacharkulksemsuk, Reit, Khambatta, Eastwick, Finkel & Carney 2016, PNAS — 'Dominant, open nonverbal displays are attractive at zero-acquaintance' (PMC full text

  Confirmed in full text. Speed-dating: per 1-SD increase in postural expansiveness, person was 76% more likely to get a 'yes' (OR 1.76). Dating-app: expansive profiles 27% more likely to elicit a 'yes' overall; for men, 87% of the 30 yes-responses came from expansive photos (women 53%). Effect mediated by perceived dominance (indirect effect significant, 95% CI excluding zero). Openness was not confirmed as a separate

• Vacharkulksemsuk et al. 2016, PNAS (journal DOI page)

  Live page returned HTTP 403 (publisher bot-block), but Crossref confirms the DOI resolves to the same peer-reviewed article ('Dominant, open nonverbal displays are attractive at zero-acquaintance', PNAS 2016). Same study as the PMC full text above; content independently verified there.

• Körner & Schütz 2020, Social and Personality Psychology Compass — 'Dominance or prestige: A review of the effects of power poses and other body postures'

  Live page returned HTTP 403 (publisher bot-block); Crossref confirms the DOI is real and resolves to a 2020 review by Körner & Schütz on power poses and body postures. On-topic for expansive/upright posture as a dominance/prestige signal. Note: original result mislabeled it 'Körner et al.' (it is two authors), and the specific 'across cultures / beats contractive on confidence' wording could not be verified behind th