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The Effect of Body Posture on Foreign Language Anxiety

Year 2019, Issue: 37, 46 - 65, 30.06.2019

Suleyman Kasap Fuat Tanhan

Abstract




The Effect of Body Posture on Foreign
Language Anxiety






 



 



Abstract



 




Some people of an anxious
disposition  have the tendency to enter a
closed body posture while communicating with others, which is often seen as a
physical response to their mental distress caused by the performance of this
action.  This closed posture, as it
continues, has been show to further affects the anxiety felt by the speaker,
feeding into their worries and forming a cycle of anxiety and difficulty in communication.
Given that body posture is a factor in this cycle, if the posture is altered to
a more positive form it is expected that the speaker will be less affected by
anxiety potential reduction in may lead to improvements in the ability to
communicate. 



 



The aim of this study is to examine whether the language and general
anxiety scores of ELT third-year students changed depending on their body
posture and accordingly whether adopting high- vs. low-power poses  can improve an individual‘s  English speaking performance. In this study,
the students' bodies were altered into ‘open’ postures, and the effect of this
posture on the students' general anxiety and language anxiety levels was
examined through the General Anxiety Scale and the Foreign Language Anxiety
Scale, as well as through semi-structured interviews conducted with the
participants.



 



The study concluded that changing the body posture to an open style had
a positive effect both on foreign language anxiety and on general anxiety.
Moreover, the qualitative analysis of the interview protocols revealed
consistency between the perception of the students about their speaking
performance and their anxiety levels.



 



               Key words:  body posture,
foreign language anxiety, general anxiety.



 



 






1.      Asst. Prof. Dr, Van Yuzuncu Yil University, Department
of ELT , Van, Turkey  kasap_hakan@hotmail.com







2.     
Assoc. Prof. Dr,
Van Yuzuncu Yil University, Department of Counselling and Psychological
Counselling , Turkey  fuad65@gmaill.com







Keywords

body posture foreign language anxiety general anxiety.

References

  • Ajzen, I., Albarracin, D., & Hornik, R. (2007). Prediction and change of health behavior: Applying the reasoned action approach. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
  • Adkin, A. L., Frank, J. S., Carpenter, M. G.; Peysar, G. W. (2000). Postural control is scaled to level of postural threat. Gait Posture. Oct 12(2):87-93.
  • Arnette, S. L., & Pettijohn II, T. F. (2012). The effects of posture on self-perceived leadership. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3, 8-13
  • Bargh JA, Chen M, Burrows L. (1996). Automaticity of social behaviour: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 71:230–244.
  • Blanchard, R. J.; Blnchard, D. C. (1968) Crouching as an index of fear. J Comp Physiol Psychol, 67, 370-375. 1969.
  • Blanchard, R. J.; Fial, R. A. (1969) Effects of limbic lesions on passive avoidance and reactivity to shock. J Comp Physiol Psychol, 66, 606-612.
  • Brinol, P., Petty, R.E., & Wagner, B. (2009). Body posture effects on self evaluation: a self validation approach. European Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 1053-1064
  • Brown, R. P.; Gerbarg, P. L. Sudarshan Kriya Yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression. Part II--clinical applications and guidelines. J Altern Complement Med. Aug;11(4):711-7. 2005.
  • Byron Bay English Language School (2017) Ielts Pre-Placement Test, http://www.bbels.com.au/documents/BBELS%20IELTS%20Pre-placement%20test.pdf
  • Carney, D. R., Hall, J., & Smith LeBeau, L. (2005). Beliefs about the nonverbal expression of social power. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 29, 105-123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-005-2743-zCarney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21, 1363-1368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610383437
  • Cesario, J., & McDonald, M. M. (2013). Bodies in context: Power poses as a computation of action possibility. Social Cognition, 31(2), 260-274
  • Chartrand, T. L., Bargh,J. A. (1999). The Chameleon Effect: The Perception-Behavior Link and Social Interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(6), 893-910.
  • Cuddy, A. J. C., Wilmuth C. A., & Carney, D. R. (2012). The Benefit of power posing Before a High-Stakes Social Evaluation. Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13-027.
  • Dittmann, A. T.; Parloff, M. B.; Boomer, D. S. Facial and bodily expressions: A study of receptivity of emotional cues. Psychiatry, 28, 239-244. 1965.
  • Duclos, S. E., Laird, J. D., Schneider, E., Sexter, M., Stern, L., & Van Lighten, O. (1989). Emotion-specific effects of facial expressions and postures on emotional experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(1), 100-108.
  • Ekman, P., Differential communication of affect by head and body cues. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2, 726-735. 1965.
  • Fischer, J., Fischer, P., Englich, B., Aydin, N., & Frey, D. (2011). Empower my decision: The effects of power gestures on confirmatory information processing. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 1146-1154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.06.008
  • Flack, W. F., Laird, J. D., & Cavallaro, L. A. (1999). Separate and combined effects of facial expressions and bodily postures on emotional feelings. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 203-217.
  • F. Price, T and Harmon-Jones, E. (2011), Psychophysiology, 48 718–722. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Printed in the USA.
  • Grant, C. C., Viljoen, M., Janse van Rensburg, D. C., & Wood, P. S. (2012). Heart rate variability assessment of the effect of physical training on autonomic cardiac control. Annals of Non-invasive Electrocardiology, 17(3), 219-229.
  • Hall, J. A., Coats, E. J., & LeBeau, L. S. (2005). Nonverbal behavior and the vertical dimension of social relations: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 898-924. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.898
  • Hargrave, J. (2008,). Do You Speak Body Language? The Forensic Examiner, 17 22. Retrieved from http://www.theforensicexaminer.com/archive/fall08/2/
  • Harmon-Jones, E., & Peterson, C. K. (2009). Supine body position reduces neural response to anger evocation. Psychological Science, 20(10), 1209-1211. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02416.x
  • Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. A. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–132.
  • IELTS USA (2017) , IELTS Listening Test , https://www.ielts.org/-/media/us-files/ielts-usa-practice-listening-test.ashx?la=en
  • Pease, A. & Pease, B. (2006) The Definitive Book of Body Language: The Hidden Meaning Behind People’s Gestures and Expressions. New York, NY: Bantam Dell.
  • Reis, D. J.; Gunne, L. M.( 1965). Brain catecholamines: Relation to the defense reaction evoked by amygdaloid stimulation in the cat. Science 149, 450-451.
  • Rossberg-Gempton, I. E., & Poole, G. D. (1993). The effect of open and closed postures on pleasant and unpleasant emotions. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 20, 75-82.
  • Saad , N. B. (1995) . Animal Body Language. Library of Congress Card # ISBN ICHA 90-429-041-8
  • Schnall, S., & Laird, J. D. (2003). Keep smiling: Enduring effects of facial expressions and postures on emotional experience and memory. Cognition and Emotion. 15(1), 27-56
  • Sgarbossa , Maldaner E, Mortari DM, Biasi J, Leguizamo CP. (2009) Effects of physiotherapeutic instructions on anxiety of CABG patients. Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Cardiovascular 24 (3): 359-366.
  • Shah, J. Y., & Gardner, W. L., (Eds.), (2008). Handbook of motivation science. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Schubert, T. W., & Koole, S. L. (2009). The embodied self: Making a fist enhances men’s power-related self-conceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 828-834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.02.003
  • Schubert, T. W. (2004). The power in your hand: Gender differences in bodily feedback from making a fist. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 757–769.
  • Stepper, S., & Strack, F. (1993). Proprioceptive determinants of emotional and non-emotional feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(2), 211- 220.
  • Spitzer, Robert L.; Kroenke, Kurt; Williams, Janet B.W.; Löwe, Bernd (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine. 166 (10): 1092–7.
  • Straker, D (2008). Changing Minds: In Detail. Syque Publishing, Crowthorne, UK.
  • Sweeny, D. R.; Tintling, D. C.; Eby, L. A.; Schamale JR., A. H.(1968) Factor analytic studies of four expressive modes of emotion. Proceedings from the 76th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, 169-170. 1968.
  • Taylor, C. E., Willie, C. K., Atkinson, G., Jones, H., & Tzeng, Y. C. (2013). Postural influences on the mechanical and neural components of the cardiovagal baroreflex. Acta Physiologica, 208(1), 66-73.
  • Wells, G. L., & Petty, R. E. (1980). The effects of overt head movements on persuasion: Compatibility and incompatibility of responses. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1, 219–230.
  • Wachtel, P. L. (1967). An approach to the study of body language in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy. 4, 97-100.

Year 2019, Issue: 37, 46 - 65, 30.06.2019

Suleyman Kasap Fuat Tanhan

Abstract

References

  • Ajzen, I., Albarracin, D., & Hornik, R. (2007). Prediction and change of health behavior: Applying the reasoned action approach. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
  • Adkin, A. L., Frank, J. S., Carpenter, M. G.; Peysar, G. W. (2000). Postural control is scaled to level of postural threat. Gait Posture. Oct 12(2):87-93.
  • Arnette, S. L., & Pettijohn II, T. F. (2012). The effects of posture on self-perceived leadership. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3, 8-13
  • Bargh JA, Chen M, Burrows L. (1996). Automaticity of social behaviour: Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 71:230–244.
  • Blanchard, R. J.; Blnchard, D. C. (1968) Crouching as an index of fear. J Comp Physiol Psychol, 67, 370-375. 1969.
  • Blanchard, R. J.; Fial, R. A. (1969) Effects of limbic lesions on passive avoidance and reactivity to shock. J Comp Physiol Psychol, 66, 606-612.
  • Brinol, P., Petty, R.E., & Wagner, B. (2009). Body posture effects on self evaluation: a self validation approach. European Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 1053-1064
  • Brown, R. P.; Gerbarg, P. L. Sudarshan Kriya Yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression. Part II--clinical applications and guidelines. J Altern Complement Med. Aug;11(4):711-7. 2005.
  • Byron Bay English Language School (2017) Ielts Pre-Placement Test, http://www.bbels.com.au/documents/BBELS%20IELTS%20Pre-placement%20test.pdf
  • Carney, D. R., Hall, J., & Smith LeBeau, L. (2005). Beliefs about the nonverbal expression of social power. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 29, 105-123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10919-005-2743-zCarney, D. R., Cuddy, A. J., & Yap, A. J. (2010). Power posing: Brief nonverbal displays affect neuroendocrine levels and risk tolerance. Psychological Science, 21, 1363-1368. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610383437
  • Cesario, J., & McDonald, M. M. (2013). Bodies in context: Power poses as a computation of action possibility. Social Cognition, 31(2), 260-274
  • Chartrand, T. L., Bargh,J. A. (1999). The Chameleon Effect: The Perception-Behavior Link and Social Interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(6), 893-910.
  • Cuddy, A. J. C., Wilmuth C. A., & Carney, D. R. (2012). The Benefit of power posing Before a High-Stakes Social Evaluation. Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 13-027.
  • Dittmann, A. T.; Parloff, M. B.; Boomer, D. S. Facial and bodily expressions: A study of receptivity of emotional cues. Psychiatry, 28, 239-244. 1965.
  • Duclos, S. E., Laird, J. D., Schneider, E., Sexter, M., Stern, L., & Van Lighten, O. (1989). Emotion-specific effects of facial expressions and postures on emotional experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57(1), 100-108.
  • Ekman, P., Differential communication of affect by head and body cues. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2, 726-735. 1965.
  • Fischer, J., Fischer, P., Englich, B., Aydin, N., & Frey, D. (2011). Empower my decision: The effects of power gestures on confirmatory information processing. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 1146-1154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.06.008
  • Flack, W. F., Laird, J. D., & Cavallaro, L. A. (1999). Separate and combined effects of facial expressions and bodily postures on emotional feelings. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 203-217.
  • F. Price, T and Harmon-Jones, E. (2011), Psychophysiology, 48 718–722. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Printed in the USA.
  • Grant, C. C., Viljoen, M., Janse van Rensburg, D. C., & Wood, P. S. (2012). Heart rate variability assessment of the effect of physical training on autonomic cardiac control. Annals of Non-invasive Electrocardiology, 17(3), 219-229.
  • Hall, J. A., Coats, E. J., & LeBeau, L. S. (2005). Nonverbal behavior and the vertical dimension of social relations: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 131, 898-924. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.898
  • Hargrave, J. (2008,). Do You Speak Body Language? The Forensic Examiner, 17 22. Retrieved from http://www.theforensicexaminer.com/archive/fall08/2/
  • Harmon-Jones, E., & Peterson, C. K. (2009). Supine body position reduces neural response to anger evocation. Psychological Science, 20(10), 1209-1211. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02416.x
  • Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. A. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–132.
  • IELTS USA (2017) , IELTS Listening Test , https://www.ielts.org/-/media/us-files/ielts-usa-practice-listening-test.ashx?la=en
  • Pease, A. & Pease, B. (2006) The Definitive Book of Body Language: The Hidden Meaning Behind People’s Gestures and Expressions. New York, NY: Bantam Dell.
  • Reis, D. J.; Gunne, L. M.( 1965). Brain catecholamines: Relation to the defense reaction evoked by amygdaloid stimulation in the cat. Science 149, 450-451.
  • Rossberg-Gempton, I. E., & Poole, G. D. (1993). The effect of open and closed postures on pleasant and unpleasant emotions. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 20, 75-82.
  • Saad , N. B. (1995) . Animal Body Language. Library of Congress Card # ISBN ICHA 90-429-041-8
  • Schnall, S., & Laird, J. D. (2003). Keep smiling: Enduring effects of facial expressions and postures on emotional experience and memory. Cognition and Emotion. 15(1), 27-56
  • Sgarbossa , Maldaner E, Mortari DM, Biasi J, Leguizamo CP. (2009) Effects of physiotherapeutic instructions on anxiety of CABG patients. Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Cardiovascular 24 (3): 359-366.
  • Shah, J. Y., & Gardner, W. L., (Eds.), (2008). Handbook of motivation science. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Schubert, T. W., & Koole, S. L. (2009). The embodied self: Making a fist enhances men’s power-related self-conceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 828-834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.02.003
  • Schubert, T. W. (2004). The power in your hand: Gender differences in bodily feedback from making a fist. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 757–769.
  • Stepper, S., & Strack, F. (1993). Proprioceptive determinants of emotional and non-emotional feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(2), 211- 220.
  • Spitzer, Robert L.; Kroenke, Kurt; Williams, Janet B.W.; Löwe, Bernd (2006). A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7. Archives of Internal Medicine. 166 (10): 1092–7.
  • Straker, D (2008). Changing Minds: In Detail. Syque Publishing, Crowthorne, UK.
  • Sweeny, D. R.; Tintling, D. C.; Eby, L. A.; Schamale JR., A. H.(1968) Factor analytic studies of four expressive modes of emotion. Proceedings from the 76th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, 169-170. 1968.
  • Taylor, C. E., Willie, C. K., Atkinson, G., Jones, H., & Tzeng, Y. C. (2013). Postural influences on the mechanical and neural components of the cardiovagal baroreflex. Acta Physiologica, 208(1), 66-73.
  • Wells, G. L., & Petty, R. E. (1980). The effects of overt head movements on persuasion: Compatibility and incompatibility of responses. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1, 219–230.
  • Wachtel, P. L. (1967). An approach to the study of body language in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy. 4, 97-100.
There are 41 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Journal Section Articles
Authors

Suleyman Kasap

Fuat Tanhan

Publication Date June 30, 2019
Submission Date June 13, 2019
Published in Issue Year 2019 Issue: 37

Cite

APA Kasap, S., & Tanhan, F. (2019). The Effect of Body Posture on Foreign Language Anxiety. Sakarya Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi(37), 46-65.

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