Bound to lose: physical incapacitation increases the conceptualized size of an antagonist in men.
Because decision-making in situations of potential conflict hinges on assessing many features of the self and the foe, this process can be facilitated by summarizing diverse attributes in a single heuristic representation. Physical size and strength are evolutionarily ancient determinants of victory in conflict, and their relevance is reinforced during development. Accordingly, size and muscularity constitute ready dimensions for a summary representation of relative formidability, a perspective paralleled by the notion that social power is represented using envisioned relative size. Physical incapacitation constitutes a significant tactical disadvantage, hence temporary incapacitation should increase the envisioned size and strength of an antagonist. In Study 1, being bound to a chair increased men's estimates of the size of an angry man and decreased estimates of their own height. Study 2 conceptually replicated these effects: among men for whom standing on a balance board was challenging, the attendant experience of postural instability increased estimates of an angry man's size and muscularity, with similar patterns occurring at a reduced level among all but those whose equilibrium was apparently unaffected by this task.
Department of Anthropology and Center for Behavior, Evolution, and Culture, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America. dfessler@anthro.ucla.edu
Daniel M T
DM
Fessler
Colin
C
Holbrook
D000293:Adolescent; D000786:Anger; D001827:Body Height / Q000502:physiology*; D049628:Body Size / Q000502:physiology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D011782:Quadriplegia / Q000503:physiopathology; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult