Content uploaded by Erik Peper
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Erik Peper on Nov 29, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
Biofeedback ÓAssociation for Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback
Volume 45, Issue 2, pp. 36–41 www.aapb.org
DOI: 10.5298/1081-5937-45.2.01
SPECIAL ISSUESPECIAL ISSUE
How Posture Affects Memory Recall and Mood
Erik Peper, PhD, BCB,
1
I-Mei Lin, PhD, BCB,
2
Richard Harvey, PhD,
1
and Jacob Perez
1
1
Institute for Holistic Health Studies/Department of Health Education, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA;
2
Department of Psychology, College of
Humanities and Social Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Keywords: posture, memory, mood, depression, cognitive behavioral therapy
Body posture reflects emotional states, and this study
investigates the effect of posture sitting in a slouched or
upright position on recall of either negative (hopeless,
helpless, powerless, or defeated) memories or positive
(empowered or optimistic) memories.Two hundred and
sixteen college students sat in either a slouched or an erect
position while recalling negative memories and then in a
second step, recalling positive memories. They then sat in
the opposite body position while recalling negative and
then positive memories. Eighty-six percent of the students
reported that it was easier to recall/access negative
memories in the collapsed position than in the erect
position (p,.01), and 87% of the students reported that it
was easier to recall/access positive images in the erect
position than in the collapsed position (p,.01).
Participants who reported being most depressed over the
previous two years reported significantly more recall of
negative memories in both the slouched position (p¼.01)
and erect position (p,.05). For those who were most
depressed, there were no differences in recalling positive
memories. We recommend that therapists teach clients
posture awareness and to sit more upright in the office and
at home as a strategy to increase positive affect and
decrease depression.
Background
When I sat collapsed looking down, negative memories
flooded me and I found it difficult to shift and think of positive
memories. While sitting erect, I found it easier to think of
positive memories.
—Student participant
The link between posture and mood is embedded in
idiomatic phrases such as walking tall,standing proud,
and an upstanding citizen, versus collapsed,defeated,orin
a slump; this language suggests that posture and mood/
emotions are connected. Slumped posture is commonly
observed in depression (Canales, Cordas, Fiquer, Caval-
cante, & Moreno, 2010; Michalak et al., 2009) and adapting
an upright posture increases positive affect, reduces fatigue,
and increases energy in people with mild to moderate
depression (Peper & Lin, 2012; Wilkes, Kydd, Sagar, &
Broadbent, 2017).
Most psychotherapies tend to focus on the mind
component of the body-mind relationship. On the other
hand, exercise and posture focus on the body component of
the mind/emotion/body relationship. Physical activity in
general has been demonstrated to improve mood and
exercise has been successfully used to treat depression with
lower recidivism rates than pharmaceuticals such as
sertraline (Zoloft) (Babyak et al., 2000). Although the role
of exercise as a treatment strategy for depression has been
accepted, the role of posture is not usually included in
cognitive behavior therapy or biofeedback or neurofeedback
therapy.
Hormone levels also change in a collapsed posture
(Carney, Cuddy, & Yap, 2010). For example, 2 minutes of
standing in a collapsed position significantly decreased
testosterone and increased cortisol as compared to a ‘‘ power
posture,’’ which significantly increased testosterone and
decreased cortisol while standing. As Cuddy pointed out in
a Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) talk, ‘‘ By
changing posture, you not only present yourself differently
to the world around you, you actually change your
hormones’’ (Cuddy, 2012).
Wilkes et al. (2017) and Peper and Lin (2012) have
suggested a link between posture, emotions, and cognitions
that describes the importance of postural interventions to
counter symptoms of depression and low energy. Peper and
Lin (2012) demonstrated that if people tried skipping rather
than walking in a slouched posture, subjective energy after
the exercise was significantly higher. Among the partici-
pants who had reported the highest level of depression
during the last 2 years, there was a significant decrease of
subjective energy when they walked in slouched position
compared with those who reported a low level of
depression. Earlier, Wilson and Peper (2004) demonstrated
36
Summer 2017 |Biofeedback
that in a collapsed posture, students more easily accessed
hopeless, powerless, defeated and other negative memories
as compared to memories accessed in an upright position.
More recently, Tsai, Peper, and Lin (2016) showed that
when participants sat in a collapsed position, evoking
positive thoughts required more ‘‘ brain activation’’ (i.e.,
greater mental effort) compared to that required when
walking in an upright position.
The purpose of this study is to expand on our
observations with more than 3,000 students and workshop
participants. We observed that body posture and position
affects recall of emotional memory and a history of self-
described depression appears to affect the recall of either
positive or negative memories.
Method
Two hundred and sixteen college students (65 males, 142
females, 9 undeclared),with an average age of 24.6 years
(SD ¼7.6) participated in a regularly planned classroom
demonstration regarding the relationship between posture
and mood. As an evaluation of a classroom activity, this
report of findings was exempted from Institutional Review
Board oversight.
Procedure
While sitting in a class, students filled out a short,
anonymous questionnaire, which asked them to rate their
history of depression over the last 2 years, their level of
depression and energy at this moment, and how easy it was
for them to change their moods and energy level (on a scale
from 1–10). The students also rated the extent they became
emotionally absorbed or ‘‘captured’’ by their positive or
negative memory recall. Half of the students were asked to
rate how they sat in front of their computer, tablet, or
mobile device on a scale from 1 (sitting upright) to 10
(completely slouched).
Two different sitting postures were clearly defined for
participants: slouched/collapsed and erect/upright, as shown
in Figure 1. To assume the collapsed position, they were
asked to slouch and look down while slightly rounding the
back. For the erect position, they were asked to sit upright
with a slight arch in their back, while looking upward.
After experiencing both postures, half the students sat in
the collapsed position while the other half sat in the upright
position. While in this position, they were asked to recall/
evoke as many hopeless, helpless, powerless, or defeated
memories as possible, one after the other, for 30 seconds.
After 30 seconds they were reminded to keep their same
position and let go of thinking negative memories. They
were then asked to recall/evoke only positive, optimistic, or
empowering memories for 30 seconds.
The participants were then asked to switch positions.
Those who were collapsed switched to sitting erect, and
those who were erect switched to sitting collapsed. Then
they were again asked to recall/evoke as many hopeless,
helpless, powerless, or defeated memories as possible one
after the other for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds they were
reminded to keep their same position and again let go of
thinking of negative memories. They were then asked to
recall/evoke only positive, optimistic, or empowering
memories for 30 seconds, while still retaining the second
posture.
The participants then rated their subjective experience in
recalling negative or positive memories and the degree to
which they were absorbed or captured by the memories in
each position, and in which position it was easier to recall
positive or negative experiences.
Results
Among the participants, 86% reported that it was easier to
recall/access negative memories in the collapsed position
than in the erect position, which was significantly different
as determined by one-way analysis of variance, F(1, 430) ¼
110.193, p,.01, and 87% of participants reported that it
was easier to recall/access positive images in the erect
position than in the collapsed position, which was
significantly different as determined by one-way analysis
of variance, F(1, 430) ¼173.861, p,.01, as shown in
Figure 2. The difficulty or ease of recalling negative or
positive memories varied depending on position as shown
in Figure 3.
The participants with a high level of depression over the
last 2 years (top 23% of participants who scored 7 or higher
on the scale of 1–10) reported that it was significantly more
difficult to change their mood from negative to positive,
t(110) ¼4.08, p,.01, than was reported by those with a
low level of depression (lowest 29% of the participants who
scored 3 or less on the scale of 1–10). It was significantly
easier for more depressed students to recall/evoke negative
memories in the collapsed posture, t(109) ¼2.55, p¼.01,
and in the upright posture, t(110) ¼2.41, p.05, and no
significant difference in recalling positive memories in
either posture, as shown in Figure 4.
For all participants, there was a significant correlation (r
¼.4) between subjective energy level and ease with which
they could change from negative to positive mood. There
were no significance differences for gender in all measures
except that males reported a significantly higher energy
Peper et al.
37
Biofeedback |Summer 2017
level than females (M¼5.5, SD ¼3.0 and M¼4.7, SD ¼
3.8, respectively; t[203] ¼2.78, p,.01).
A subset of students also rated their posture when sitting
in front of a computer or using a digital device (tablet or cell
phone) on a scale from 1 (upright) to 10 (completely
slouched). The students with the highest levels of
depression over the last 2 years reporting slouching
significantly more than those with the lowest level of
depression over the last 2 years (M¼6.4, SD ¼3.5 and M¼
4.6, SD ¼2.6; t[46] ¼3.5, p,.01).
There were no other order effects except of accessing
fewer negative memories in the collapsed posture after
accessing positive memories in the erect posture, t(159) ¼
2.7, p,.01. Approximately half of the students who also
rated being ‘‘captured’’ bytheirpositiveornegative
memories were significantly more captured by the negative
memories in the collapsed posture than in the erect posture,
t(197) ¼6.8, p,.01, and were significantly more captured
by positive memories in the erect posture than the collapsed
posture, t(197) ¼7.6, p,.01, as shown in Figure 5.
Discussion
Posture significantly influenced access to negative and
positive memory recall and confirms the report by Wilson
and Peper (2004). The collapsed/slouched position was
associated with significantly easier access to negative
memories. This is a useful clinical observation because
ruminating on negative memories tends to decrease
subjective energy and increase depressive feelings (Michl,
McLaughlin, Shepherd, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2015). When
working with clients to change their cognitions, especially
in the treatment of depression, the posture may affect the
Figure 1. Sitting in a collapsed position and upright position (photo by Jana Asenbrennerova). Reprinted by permission from Gorter and Peper (2011).
Posture’s Effects on Memory and Mood
38
Summer 2017 |Biofeedback
outcome. Thus, therapists should consider posture re-
training as a clinical intervention. This would include
teaching clients to change their posture in the office and at
home as a strategy to optimize access to positive memories
and thereby reduce access or fixation on negative
memories. Thus if one is in a negative mood, then
slouching could maintain this negative mood while
changing body posture to an erect posture, would make
it easier to shift to a positive mood.
Physiologically, an erect body posture allows partici-
pants to breathe more diaphragmatically because the
diaphragm has more space for descent. It is easier for
participants to learn slower breathing and increased heart
rate variability while sitting erect as compared to collapsed,
as shown in Figure 6 (Mason et al., 2017).
The collapsed position also tends to increase neck and
shoulder symptoms. This position is often observed in
people who work at the computer or are constantly looking
at their cell phone—a position sometimes labeled as the ‘‘i-
Neck.’’
Implication for therapy
In most biofeedback and neurofeedback training sessions,
posture is not assessed and clients sit in a comfortable chair,
which automatically causes a slouched position. Similarly,
at home, most clients sit on an easy chair or couch, which
lets them slouch as they watch TV or surf the web. Finally,
most people slouch when looking at their cellphone, tablet,
or the computer screen (Guan et al., 2016). They usually
Figure 2. Percent of respondents who reported that it was easier to recall
positive or negative memories in an upright or slouched posture.
Figure 3. The relative subjective rating in the ease or difficulty of recalling
negative and positive memories in collapsed and upright positions.
Figure 4. Differences is in memory access for participants with a history of
least or most depression.
Figure 5. Subjective rating of being captured by negative and positive
memories depending upon position.
Peper et al.
39
Biofeedback |Summer 2017
only become aware of slouching when they experience
neck, shoulder, or back discomfort.
Clients and therapists are usually not aware that a
slouched posture may decrease the client’s energy level and
increase the prevalence of a negative mood. Thus, we
recommend that therapists incorporate posture awareness
and training to optimize access to positive imagery and
increase energy.
Acknowledgment
We thank Frank Andrasik for his constructive comments.
References
Babyak, M., Blumenthal, J. A., Herman, S., Khatri, P., Doraisw-
amy, M., Moore, K., . . . Krishnan, K. R. (2000). Exercise
treatment for major depression: Maintenance of therapeutic
benefit at 10 months. Psychosomatic Medicine,62(5), 633–638.
Canales, J. Z., Cordas, T. A., Fiquer, J. T., Cavalcante, A. F., &
Moreno, R. A. (2010). Posture and body image in individuals
with major depressive disorder: A controlled study. Revista
Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 32(4), 375–380.
Carney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing
brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk
tolerance. Psychological Science,21(10), 1363–1368.
Cuddy, A. (2012). Your body language shapes who you are [Video
file]. Retrieved from www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_
body_language_shapes_who_you_are
Gorter, R., & Peper, E. (2011). Fighting cancer—A nontoxic
approach to treatment. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.
Guan, X., Fan, G., Chen, Z., Zeng, Y., Zhang, H., Hu, A., ... He, S.
(2016). Gender difference in mobile phone use and the impact
of digital device exposure on neck posture. Ergonomics,59(11),
1453–1461.
Mason, L., Joy, M., Peper, E., Harvey, R., & Booiman, A. (2017,
March). Posture matters. Poster presented at the 48th Annual
Meeting of the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and
Biofeedback, Chicago, IL.
Michalak, J., Troje, N. F., Fischer, J., Vollmar, P., Heidenreich, T.,
& Schulte, D. (2009). Embodiment of sadness and depression:
Gait patterns associated with dysphoric mood. Psychosomatic
Medicine, 71(5), 580–587.
Michl, L. C., McLaughlin, K. A., Shepherd, K., & Nolen-
Hoeksema, S. (2013). Rumination as a mechanism linking
stressful life events to symptoms of depression and anxiety:
Figure 6. Effect of posture on respiratory breathing pattern and heart rate variability.
Posture’s Effects on Memory and Mood
40
Summer 2017 |Biofeedback
Longitudinal evidence in early adolescents and adults. Journal
of Abnormal Psychology,122(2), 339.
Peper, E., & Lin, I-M. (2012). Increase or decrease depression:
How body postures influence your energy level. Biofeedback,
40(3), 126–130.
Tsai, H. Y., Peper, E., & Lin, I. M. (2016). EEG patterns under
positive/negative body postures and emotion recall tasks.
NeuroRegulation, 3(1), 23–27.
Wilkes, C., Kydd, R., Sagar, M., & Broadbent, E. (2017). Upright
posture improves affect and fatigue in people with depressive
symptoms. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental
Psychiatry,54, 143–149.
Wilson, V. E., & Peper, E. (2004). The effects of upright and
slumped postures on the generation of positive and negative
thoughts. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 29(3),
189–195.
Erik Peper I-Mei Lin
Richard Harvey Jacob Perez
Correspondence: Erik Peper, PhD, BCB, Institute for Holistic
Healing Studies/Department of Health Education, San Francisco
State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132,
email: epeper@sfsu.edu, Web: www.biofeedbackhealth.org, blog:
www.peperperspective.com.
Peper et al.
41
Biofeedback |Summer 2017
