Learning affect norms: Implications for predictions, experiences, and social judgments

Exposure to feelings of another can shape how we feel and think in that context. We propose that exposure to the feelings of multiple others carries broader implications that extend beyond the exposure context. We argue that people identify patterns of affective reactions in the social group, which leads them to infer affect norms. These norms, in turn, serve as benchmarks for subsequent social judgments. In four studies (N = 418), three of which were preregistered, we exposed participants to sequential affective reactions of multiple others and manipulated their intensity. We then tested the effects of such exposure on predictions of others' feelings, one's own feelings, and subsequent social judgments. Across studies, we show that people predict feelings of group members based on the norm they were exposed to, that they assimilate their own reactions to the norm, and that they subsequently judge social targets that deviate from the norm more negatively. Our findings demonstrate how exposure to feelings of multiple others enables people to learn affect norms, bridging research on emotions in dyads, groups, and cultures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).