SAT OwlQuestion bank / Cross-Text Connections
Text 1: In a widely publicized study, participants who spent two minutes in "power poses," such as standing with hands on hips and feet apart, afterward reported feeling more powerful and were more willing to make a risky bet than participants who sat hunched over. The researchers suggested that taking such postures could help people perform better in stressful situations like job interviews.
Text 2: Several later studies with far more participants tested power posing again. They consistently found that people who held expansive postures said they felt more powerful. But they found no difference in willingness to take risks or in other measurable behaviors.
Based on the texts, how would the authors of the later studies in Text 2 most likely respond to the researchers' suggestion in Text 1?
They would agree that power posing improves how people perform in stressful situations such as job interviews and exams.
They would argue that holding expansive poses actually makes people feel less powerful than before.
They would argue that the suggestion overreaches, since posing seems to change how people feel but not what they do.
They would claim that the original study included too many participants to produce reliable results.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C
The later studies confirmed the feeling of power but found no change in risk taking or other behavior. Since better performance in an interview is a change in behavior, they would say the suggestion in Text 1 isn't supported, choice C.
Choice A is tempting because the later studies confirmed part of the original finding, but they found no change in behavior.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. The later studies found no difference in risk taking or other behavior, so they don't support claims about better performance.
- B. Text 2 says people who posed consistently reported feeling more powerful.
- D. Text 2 says the later studies had far more participants, which implies the original had fewer.
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