When life is weighing us down everything becomes heavier!

The Influence of Social Power on Weight Perception.

Lee, Eun Hee; Schnall, Simone
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Feb 3 , 2014, No Pagination Specified.

"Three studies explored whether social power affects the perception of physical properties of objects, testing the hypothesis that the powerless find objects to be heavier than the powerful do. Correlational findings from Study 1 revealed that people with a low personal sense of power perceived loaded boxes to be heavier than people with a high personal sense of power perceived them to be. In Study 2, experimentally manipulated power indicated that participants in the powerless condition judged the boxes to be heavier than did participants in the powerful condition. Study 3 further indicated that lacking power actively influences weight perception relative to a neutral control condition, whereas having power does not. Although much research on embodied perception has shown that various physiological and psychosocial resources influence visual perception of the physical environment, this is the first demonstration suggesting that power, a psychosocial construct that relates to the control of resources, changes the perception of physical properties of objects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)"

Interesting findings,and no doubt real. Perhaps why many social "losers" end up on welfare!! So to get out of the circle, empowering people in some way would have good effect. To gain control over our own life is essential for our performance-level in all areas. And acceptance for the things we can not change!