DOI: 10.5061/dryad.n8pk0p354
title: Data from: Body posture aftereffects - Does viewing slouched bodies change people's perception of normal posture?

description: People increasingly lead sedentary lifestyles and spend extended periods
 sitting in slouched and head-forward positions, which can lead to health
 issues. People are so accustomed to seeing slouched posture that they may
 perceive it as normal and fail to notice their own slouched posture. We
 aim to investigate this possibility using the visual adaptation paradigm,
 which has provided insights into the perception of body size and shape in
 the context of exposure to thin bodies in the media. The
 experiment was conducted in three phases. First, participants established
 the posture they perceived normal by manipulating body stimuli shown in
 profile view. In the second phase, the adaptation phase, participants
 viewed bodies with extremely upright or slouched postures before
 establishing their perceived normal posture again in the third phase.
 Perceived normal posture differed significantly before versus after
 adaptation, demonstrating a visual aftereffect. However, this only applied
 if test and adaptation bodies were presented in the same orientation,
 suggesting that our representation of posture is retina-centred rather
 than object-centred. This result reduces the likelihood that visual
 adaptation influences the increase in slouched posture in the population.
 These results contribute to understanding visual influences on people’s
 perception of body posture. 
description: The study used a 2x2 mixed ANOVA. The
 between-subjects variable was Adaptation Posture, with two levels:
 slouched and upright. The within-subjects variable was Congruency between
 the test and adaptor view, with two levels: congruent (i.e., facing the
 same way), and incongruent (i.e., facing the opposite
 direction). The dependent variable was Change in the
 Point of Subjective Normality (ΔPSN) for posture. The PSN indicates the
 posture that a participant perceives as normal, averaged across all test
 stimuli both before (baseline test) and after (adaptation test) exposure
 to the adaptation stimuli. High PSNs indicate that upright postures appear
 normal, while lower PSNs mean more slouched postures are considered
 normal. Changes in PSN from baseline to adaptation are calculated by
 subtracting the baseline test score from the adaptation test score.
 Negative scores indicate that adaptation has caused an aftereffect such
 that stimuli appear more upright than they really are, and hence, more
 slouched bodies are perceived as normal. Conversely, positive scores
 indicate an aftereffect wherein stimuli appear more slouched after
 adaptation, and hence more upright bodies are perceived as
 normal.
description: # Data from: Body posture aftereffects - Does viewing slouched bodies
 change people's perception of normal posture?
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n8pk0p354](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.n8pk0p354) ## Description of the data and file structure The study used a 2x2 mixed ANOVA. The between-subjects variable was Adaptation Posture, with two levels: slouched and upright. The within-subjects variable was Congruency between the test and adaptor view, with two levels: congruent (i.e., facing the same way), and incongruent (i.e., facing the opposite direction). The dependent variable was Change in the Point of Subjective Normality (ΔPSN) for posture. The Point of Subjective Normality (PSN) indicates the posture that a participant perceives as normal, averaged across all test stimuli both before (baseline test) and after (adaptation test) exposure to the adaptation stimuli. High PSNs indicate that upright postures appear normal, while lower PSNs mean more slouched postures are considered normal. Changes in PSN from baseline to adaptation are calculated by subtracting the baseline test score from the adaptation test score. Negative scores indicate that adaptation has caused an aftereffect such that stimuli appear more upright than they really are, and hence, more slouched bodies are perceived as normal. Conversely, positive scores indicate an aftereffect wherein stimuli appear more slouched after adaptation, and hence more upright bodies are perceived as normal. ### Files and variables #### File: Dryad\_posture\_adaptation\_combined\_psn\_data **Description:** Raw data for data analysis.  #### Data Organization The data is organized in a single CSV file with each row representing a participant's measurements and condition. The columns are clearly labeled to indicate whether the data is from the Baseline or Delta Point of Subjective Normality (PSN) measurements.  Each participant was exposed to both the congruent and incongruent conditions but was assigned only one posture condition. ##### Data Columns * **Participant ID**: Unique identifier for each participant. * **Posture**: The posture of the stimuli during the experiment. * **Congruency**: The congruency condition during the experiment. * **Baseline PSN**: Baseline PSN measurement. * **Delta PSN**: Delta PSN measurement.