Effects of inclination of trunk and head on emotional awareness

Posture is a nonverbal behavior and a universal means of animal and human communication. It is observed not only in interpersonal communication but in clinical situation. Our recent research shows that posture affects the mood and emotional awareness of the subjects. This study compared the subjects' awareness between two groups, the operational group (actual posture) and the image group, which only imagined a postural change. Six kinds of posture were adopted. These postures included two dimensions; inclination of trunk (straight or bent), and head (up, front or down). In these conditions the subjects estimated their mood and emotional awareness with 17 pairs of adjectives on a 3 point scale. The results of ANOVA showed statistically significant differences in conditions of both inclination of trunk and head. Especially, when the subject bent his back while hanging his head, this made most feeble, lifeless, and shadowy mood than any other postures. The authors confirmed that posture exerted a strong influence on one's emotional awareness.