Affective responses to ambivalence are context-dependent: A facial EMG study on the role of inconsistency and evaluative context in shaping affective responses to ambivalence

Nohlen, Hannah U.; Harreveld, Frenk van; Rotteveel, Mark; Barends, Ard J.; Larsen, Jeff T.

doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2016.02.001

Cited by 24 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Similarly, brow lowering also fits this initial phase, as it has been related to sense-making concepts like orientation (Van Dillen, Harris, Van Dijk, & Rotteveel, 2015;Yartz & Hawk, 2002), error monitoring processes (Elkins-Brown, Saunders, & Inzlicht, 2016), mental effort (e.g. Van Boxtel & Jessurun, 1993), and negative affect (Cacioppo, Petty, Losch, & Kim, 1986;Nohlen, Van Harreveld, Rotteveel, Barends, & Larsen, 2016;Topolinski & Strack, 2015;Topolinski, Likowski, Wyers, & Strack, 2009). Thus, if brow raising or brow lowering is observed, it most likely occurs before any smiling in the case of positive surprises.…”

Section: Unfolding Of Expressionsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Surprise: unfolding of facial expressions

Noordewier

Dijk

2018

Cognition and Emotion

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Responses to surprising events are dynamic. We argue that initial responses are primarily driven by the unexpectedness of the surprising event and reflect an interrupted and surprised state in which the outcome does not make sense yet. Later responses, after sense-making, are more likely to incorporate the valence of the outcome itself. To identify initial and later responses to surprising stimuli, we conducted two repetition-change studies and coded the general valence of facial expressions using computerised facial coding and specific facial action using the Facial Action Coding System (FACS). Results partly supported our unfolding logic. The computerised coding showed that initial expressions to positive surprises were less positive than later expressions. Moreover, expressions to positive and negative surprises were initially similar, but after some time differentiated depending on the valence of the event. Importantly, these patterns were particularly pronounced in a subset of facially expressive participants, who also showed facial action in the FACS coding. The FACS data showed that the initial phase was characterised by limited facial action, whereas the later increase in positivity seems to be explained by smiling. Conceptual as well as methodological implications are discussed.

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Section: Unfolding Of Expressionsmentioning

confidence: 71%

Surprise: unfolding of facial expressions

Noordewier

Dijk

2018

Cognition and Emotion

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“…6 We use these self-reported emotions in the final exploratory analysis concerning the effects of physiological responses (see Appendix A.11 for all correlations between physiology and self-reported emotions). 3 The lab equipment we used was able to reliably and validly capture facial EMG activity in earlier work in other domains, see for instance Gazendam, Kamphuis, and Kindt (2013), Nohlen et al (2016), Rotteveel et al (2001), and Sevenster, Beckers, and Kindt (2012). 4 Other alternatives were not used because they had some conceptual problems.…”

Section: Physiological Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hot Politics? Affective Responses to Political Rhetoric

2020

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Canonical theories of opinion formation attribute an important role to affect. But how and for whom affect matters is theoretically underdeveloped. We establish the circumplex model in political science as a theory of core affect. In this theory unconscious emotional processes vary in level (arousal, measured with skin conductance) and direction (valence, measured with facial electromyography). We theorize that knowledge, attitude extremity, and (in)congruence with political rhetoric explain variation in affective responses. In a large lab study (N = 397), participants watched video clips with left-wing or right-wing rhetoric on prominent issues. We find that people with extreme attitudes experience more arousal in response to political rhetoric and that political rhetoric incongruent with prior attitudes evokes negative affect. Moreover, we show that affective responses lead to opinion change, independent of self-reported emotions. We conclude by setting a research agenda for the alignment between affective and cognitive components of emotions and their consequences.

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“…Two aspects were central. First, we were interested in replicating our previous work showing the flexibility of ambivalent person evaluations with the idea that the same positive and negative person information elicits evaluative conflict in some but not in other situations (Nohlen et al, 2016). Second, we examined the role of dACC and DLPFC in biasing evaluations toward positive or negative judgments when evaluative conflict remains.…”

Section: Present Research and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thereby, situational affordances facilitate flexible, nuanced evaluations (Cunningham & Zelazo, 2007; Cunningham et al, 2007). In a recent study, we suggested that situational affordances can resolve evaluative conflict by prioritizing specific information; that is, we may judge someone positively in a specific situation despite knowing that the person also has negative features (Nohlen et al, 2016). For example, we may judge a colleague who is charming and lazy positively when deciding whether to invite him or her to a social event because we prioritize the positive trait (charming) over the more negative one (lazy).…”

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confidence: 99%

Social evaluations under conflict: negative judgments of conflicting information are easier than positive judgments

Nohlen

Harreveld

Cunningham

2019

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience

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In the current study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate how the brain facilitates social judgments despite evaluatively conflicting information. Participants learned consistent (positive or negative) and ambivalent (positive and negative) person information and were then asked to provide binary judgments of these targets in situations that either resolved conflict by prioritizing a subset of information or not. Self-report, decision time and brain data confirm that integrating contextual information into our evaluations of objects or people allows for nuanced (social) evaluations. The same mixed trait information elicited or failed to elicit evaluative conflict dependent on the situation. Crucially, we provide data suggesting that negative judgments are easier and may be considered the ‘default’ action when experiencing evaluative conflict: weaker activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during trials of evaluative conflict was related to a greater likelihood of unfavorable judgments, and greater activation was related to more favorable judgments. Since negative outcome consequences are arguably more detrimental and salient, this finding supports the idea that additional regulation and a more active selection process are necessary to override an initial negative response to evaluatively conflicting information.

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Affective responses to ambivalence are context-dependent: A facial EMG study on the role of inconsistency and evaluative context in shaping affective responses to ambivalence

Cited by 24 publications

References 32 publications

Surprise: unfolding of facial expressions

Surprise: unfolding of facial expressions

Hot Politics? Affective Responses to Political Rhetoric

Social evaluations under conflict: negative judgments of conflicting information are easier than positive judgments

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