Other Limitations

Beyond what I have already discussed in the specific sections I think there are a few potential issues here:

1. Small sample size
2. Bias in recruitment?
3. Male to Female Imbalance (18:43).
4. Single blinding.
5. Use of psychological scales.

Small sample size is almost always a problem with research.

Obviously the smaller the sample the lower the statistical "power" of your findings.

Also I am wondering if the recruitment method actually resulted in a degree of selection bias in the sample itself.

That is to say are we excluding a particular type of person from taking part based on for example personality type? Would this effect the results?

It is hard to say.

Further the gender imbalance here may skew the results in some under-appreciated manner.

Would the results be just as compelling in a population of mainly men if we reversed the ratio?

The use of single blinding here is for obvious reasons - the person doing the physical taping for posture must know that they are applying the upright posture in order to do it.

That does leave the experiment open to greater placebo effect and expectation being induced in the subjects by those administering the treatment.

It is also unclear if the actual physical manipulations involved in terms of moving people into the upright posture may have some effect rather than the posture itself.

Could the more intensive physical touch and contact this would imply (beyond just applying tape) be responsible for some kind of physiological change similar to massage?

It is also possible that the manipulation itself may introduce some doubt into the minds of subjects as to what is being studied.

I am not sure if there is any way around it though.

Psychological scales are often a source of debate as regards to their reliability too.

One additional thing I noticed by it's absence (and perhaps I missed it somehow) was mention of actual attention/concentration as suggested by the subtraction task.

Perhaps it is hidden away in a table somewhere that I did not see.

Why Would Posture Cause These Changes?

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As is often the case we don't know the exact mechanism at play here.

The authors cite previous research that suggests upright posture has effects on alertness and levels of various hormones (e.g. thyroid).

If correct this could be a mechanism for increasing word count - unfortunately the current study did not test for any hormonal changes e.g. cortisol, thyroid hormone etc that may have an effect on this.

This would certainly be something to look at in future studies but it may pose some difficulties in terms of obtaining consent whilst still maintaining blinding.

They also cite the finding that disorders which cause physical stooping e.g. thoracic kyphosis (a spinal abnormality) are associated with depression.

That does not mean that kyphosis causes depression due to posture though. There may be other effects at work such as chronic pain in such individuals which is more likely.

Another theory that may act in conjunction with this is that there is a feedback effect from posture i.e. your self-perception is altered directly by holding yourself up differently and that this directly alters your mood and/or arousal.

Classical conditioning may play a part in this. Remember how Pavlov trained his dogs to salivate by associating the ringing of a bell with dinner?

Could it be that being told to sit up straight by their parents, conditions people into associating upright posture with more positive (less depressed) times in childhood?

I think in the absence of direct hormonal data this would seem more likely.

It would be interesting to test how long this effect persists in future research.

One would expect hormonal effects to last longer than direct perceptual effects.

There is also the possibility of a combination of both mechanisms being present.

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Conclusion

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As with many studies of this sort this is an interesting starting point.

The findings would be consistent with posture having some effect on mood but without more in depth research I don't think we can read too much into it.

The main finding of note for me was the increase in verbosity in people with upright posture and the decrease in self focus. Both are consistent with at least a transient decrease in depressive symptoms.

I suspect as with many stories one comes across in the news this will be presented as being conclusive evidence that posture changes mood.

I think that would be overstating it given the small sample size and the problems I have discussed.

We need to see these results replicated in larger studies.

The addition of longer time scales and some measurement of blood hormone levels may also be useful in determining the causes of the changes.

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References

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1. Wilkes, Carissa, Rob Kydd, Mark Sagar, and Elizabeth Broadbent. 2017. “Upright Posture Improves Affect and Fatigue in People with Depressive Symptoms.” Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry 54 (March): 143–49.

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