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Annabelle Thomas

Professor Hellmers

English 1201

20 Jan. 2019

Research Proposal

Elbows bent, hands on hips, legs apart, head held high: the superhero pose. In various

studies the superhero pose has been proven to improve performance, and I have found that very

interesting. I first became aware of this phenomenon while I was watching one of my favorite

television shows, Grey’s Anatomy. On the show, two experienced neurosurgeons prepare for a

major surgery on a fellow doctor who has an inoperable brain tumor. While they are scrubbing in

to the surgery, one of the doctors pauses and stands in the superhero pose. The other doctor,

confused, asks her what she is doing, and she explains that holding the superhero pose for five

minutes makes you more confident and likely to perform better. After watching this episode, I

spent some time researching the superhero pose and found some articles about its effects, which I

found intriguing. It was this interest that led me to want to further research this topic that could

possibly impact my own life.

As someone who can get rather anxious before sports games or school presentations, I

want to see if there are simple ways for my confidence to increase and improve my overall

performance. While I am interested in writing about the superhero pose for the research essay in

this class, I also want to expand on the subject and gather more information. Because of this, I

am expanding my research question to incorporate various power poses and their effects. I want

to learn about the specific types of power poses and see if distinct poses have different
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correlations to one’s performance. Furthermore, if these poses have varying results like I suspect,

I will research the reasons behind this, such as the chemical or psychological reasons.

This topic is very exciting to me. I am very excited to research different power poses and

the reasoning behind their positive or negative effects on one’s performance. I have been

wanting to learn more about this subject for some time, so I feel like I will enjoy researching this

topic. Before doing factual research on this subject, I think there are numerous power poses that

can be used, and each will have some kind of a result, positive or negative. For instance, I think

power poses that allow one to feel strong, such as the superhero pose, will produce a more

positive performance than a power pose that makes one feel closed off. I believe that there are

certain power poses that can improve or worsen one’s performance. Furthermore, I believe that if

one’s confidence is increased, they will perform better. In regard to this topic, I know some

information, but I am still looking to find more research on the subject. I have read some studies

which have generally concluded that certain power poses result in the improvement of one’s

performance. However, I do not know the chemical or psychological reasons behind this, and I

wish to research this.

Although I have some basic information about the impact of power poses, I am still

unsure of the reasoning behind these effects. I do not know the certain chemical or psychological

components that can dramatically change one’s performance, but I hope to further investigate

these things. I am also unsure if particular power poses produce different results of one’s

performance. In order to gain more information about these things, I will research the questions,

“How do chemical and psychological elements from power poses affect one’s performance?”

and “Do distinct power poses have differing effects on one’s performance?” I’ll begin by

researching various types of power poses, and from there I will explore academic studies that
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contain more information. By using the knowledge I already possess and looking into more

information about power poses, I hope to create an essay that explains a connection between

power poses and one’s performance.