After watching the Ted Talk- Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are and reading the

book Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges answer the following

questions as thoroughly as possible for up to 10pts (you will definitely need to use both the video

and the book):

1. Explain the James-Lange theory. Describe some of the studies that support this theory of

emotion.

ANSWER:

This theory proposes that the occurrence of emotion is based on what is

happening around us and a result of psychological reactions. Basically, our emotion

depends on the response of our stimuli to the events we are encountering.

2. What are powerful positions, what are low power positions? Describe some of the

evidence that supports these as biological, rather than learned, tendencies.

ANSWER:

None-verbal languages speaks a lot most of the time. It shows what we feel and

our thoughts as well. Let’s talk about powerful positions and lower power positions as

non-verbal expressions of our being. People who are powerful shows broadness of the

body, like being proud, as well as extending both arms wide forming V shape for victory.

These positions are frequently seen to people who has higher status or having victory. On

contrary, lower power positions are done by people having low self-esteem or

confidence. They tend to make their body smaller and sometime doesn’t want to bumped

into person. These actions are natural for people, because even the disabled people and

even animals do the same actions and reactions.

3. Explain the postural feedback effect. How do high power postures our physiology

(hormones)?

ANSWER:

When we about physiology, it has something to do with hormones. For example,

for male primates, having these key hormones: testosterones which are the dominance

hormones and cortisol which is the stress hormone. According to studies, males that

dominant has higher testosterone count than cortisol, which mean they have high

tolerance against stress. The person that his higher dominance hormones tend be more

powerful and would show powerful posture.

4. How do these physiological changes contribute to emotion, mental health, and behavior?

ANSWER:

These changes happen during role changes. Basically, in primates’ hierarchy, the

alpha male has high dominance hormones and low stress hormones. If there is a sudden

change of roles, it affects the person emotion, mental health, and behavior. It changes

because when the body reacts with the changes, number dominance hormones will go

down and the level of cortisol or stress hormones will go up. Due to these changes of

hormones, the body will react and cause change to people’s emotion, mental, and

behavior.

5. What did you find most interesting or surprising and why?

 I find it interesting that the way we act also has something to do with our

physiological aspects. Now I understood that why people act differently, why

there are people who are dominant and there are people who are less dominant or

timid. It is also interesting to learn how this physiological aspect changes human

emotion, mental health, and behavior.