Automatic behavioral responses to valence: Evidence that facial action is facilitated by evaluative processing

Attitudes towards people with AIDS and avoidance behavior: Automatic and reflective bases of behavior

“…First, we were able to show that these basic motivational orientations are elicited not only by emotional stimuli (i.e., Lang et al, 1993) or by words with a valence (i.e., Neumann & Strack, 2000;Neumann, Hess et al, 2003), but also by pictures of members of a stigmatized group. Second, we showed that interindividual differences in the automatic evaluation of this group covary with interindividual differences in spontaneous avoidance tendencies towards this same group.…”

“…Thus, the correlation of the IAT and the impulsive avoidance tendency depends on whether the respective group (healthy persons or persons with AIDS) is or is not spontaneously activated in the measure of automatic behavioral tendencies Unlike other existing dual processing models in social cognition (Fazio & Towles-Schwen, 1999;Wilson et al, 2000), the RIM allows researchers to predict the direction of the automatically activated behavior. Thus, behavior related to the avoidance orientation, such as arm movements away from the own body or contractions of the corrugator muscle (Neumann, Hess et al, 2003), is facilitated by the processing of negative valence. And conversely, behavior related to the approach orientation, such as arm movements towards the own body or contractions of the zygomaticus muscle (Neumann, Hess et al, 2003), is facilitated by the processing of positive valence.…”

“…Thus, behavior related to the avoidance orientation, such as arm movements away from the own body or contractions of the corrugator muscle (Neumann, Hess et al, 2003), is facilitated by the processing of negative valence. And conversely, behavior related to the approach orientation, such as arm movements towards the own body or contractions of the zygomaticus muscle (Neumann, Hess et al, 2003), is facilitated by the processing of positive valence. Thus, the activation of global behavioral orientations makes it harder to show an incompatible response, but in turn allows much faster compatible responses.…”

“…Conversely, a consistent pattern of activity in the right frontal lobe emerged during frowning. In addition, support for the link between these nonverbal behaviors and evaluative processes comes from a recent study by Neumann, Hess et al (2003), which found that the processing of positive information facilitated smiling, and the processing of negative information facilitated frowning.…”

“…In the impulsive system, motivational orientations of approach or avoidance mediate the automatic influence of evaluations on behavioral responses. Thus, evaluative processes directly trigger motivational approach or avoidance orientations, which in turn facilitate the execution of the relevant behaviors (Chen & Bargh, 1999;Neumann, Hess, Schulz, & Alpers, 2003). Because of the proposed link between evaluations and compatible behaviors, the RIM allows researchers to predict the direction of automatic behavioral predispositions that are activated in a given situation.…”