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Jack comments on Selfishness Signals Status - Less Wrong
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It is actually only getting away with them that is high status. Doing them is not high status.
As far as public speaking, while most of what I've done involves coaching competitions, the basic principle of standing up straight corresponding to confidence applies across a broad spectrum. It is not always the case, as there are times when slouching may indicate relaxation or boredom, and relaxation or boredom may signal high status (for example, being the only person in a group who is not stressed out about an upcoming event may signal high ability, which is high-status). Thus, the claim that standing up straight is a low-status thing to do is simply false, as there are many, many occasions when it signals high status.
Standing at attention is another matter; if that is what the original author meant, they should have been clearer.
The concerns I have with the public speaking competition evidence may be generalizable across a broad spectrum as well.
Standing straight corresponds to confidence in interactions with superiors because the status-acceptable alternative is leaning forward and keeping one's head down. In say, job interviews, if an interviewee leans back he/she is viewed as not caring enough or unprofessional (and I think this is because their posture is indicating they don't recognize the authority of the interviewer). Standing straight is the appropriate posture for an interviewee that wants to demonstrate confidence and appreciation of authority. But the interviewer can easily get away with leaning back in his/her chair and in interactions with equals this demonstrates confidence.
I rather explicitly avoid disputing this. There are times when slouching signals high status. There are times when it signals low status. There are times when it signals nothing. The original poster's claim was that standing up straight signals low status; this claim was made in an unqualified way. Since there are many cases where this is false, his claim is incorrect. In particular, the fact that people often reflect their status in their posture - i.e. people who are presently successful/high-status reflect that by standing up straight and taking up more space - is a serious problem for the original poster's claim. The fact that cases exist where slouching signals status is largely irrelevant; the original poster's claim was that standing up straight is principally a sign of low status. This is false, because it is also (indeed, I would argue, normally) a signal of high status.