TY - JOUR SN - 1521-3269 AU - Giessner, Steffen R. AU - Ryan, Michelle K. AU - Schubert, Thomas W. AU - Van Quaquebeke, Niels T1 - The power of pictures: Vertical picture angles in power pictures JF - Media Psychology SP - 442 EP - 464 IS - 4 VL - 14 PY - 2011 AB - Conventional wisdom suggests that variations in vertical picture angle cause the subject to appear more powerful when depicted from below and less powerful when depicted from above. However, do the media actually use such associations to represent individual differences in power? We argue that the diverse perspectives of evolutionary, social learning, and embodiment theories all suggest that the association between verticality and power is relatively automatic and should, therefore, be visible in the portrayal of powerful and powerless individuals in the media. Four archival studies (with six samples) provide empirical evidence for this hypothesis and indicate that a salience power context reinforces this effect. In addition, two experimental studies confirm these effects for individuals producing media content. We discuss potential implications of this effect. TS - EndNote Tagged Import Format DO - 10.1080/15213269.2011.620541 M4 - Citavi ER -