As you take in sporting matches, from tennis games to judo bouts, note the competitors’ immediate responses to winning. You’ll almost certainly see them puff out their chests, smile and raise their arms in the air. Researchers call this pose “triumph” or “dominance threat display,” and they have determined that it is both universal and evolutionarily ingrained. It is a way of showing dominance over an opponent by making your body look larger, and even blind athletes do it reflexively. The pose is especially common in status-oriented cultures, compared with more egalitarian ones. (The U.S. lies somewhere in the middle.)
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