Are We Puppets on a String? The Contextual Meaning of Unconscious Expressive Cues

Maya Tamir*, Michael D. Robinson, Gerald L. Clore, Leonard L. Martin, Daniel J. Whitaker

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

43 Scopus citations

Abstract

In three studies, the authors show that unconscious expressive cites can lead to opposite evaluations, depending on the context in which they occur. In Study 1, brow (vs. cheek) tension reduced preferences in an easy judgment context but increased preferences in a difficult context. In Study 2, head shaking (vs. nodding) either increased or decreased prosocial affect depending on the context in which the judged character was presented. In Study 3, a subliminal smile (vs. frown) led to higher self-ratings of performance when paired with one's own actions but to lower self-ratings of performance when paired with a competitor's actions. Together, these results suggest that the meaning of unconscious expressive cues is not fixed.

Original languageAmerican English
Pages (from-to)237-249
Number of pages13
JournalPersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Volume30
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2004
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Affect
  • Bodily expressions
  • Evaluation
  • Nonconscious processing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Are We Puppets on a String? The Contextual Meaning of Unconscious Expressive Cues'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this