The Effect of Negative Implicit Affect, Prime Visibility, and Gender on Effort-Related Cardiac Response

Abstract

Objectives: Based on the Implicit-Affect-Primes-Affect (IAPE) model (Gendolla, 2012, 2015), we investigated the effect of affect primes' visibility on effort-related cardiac response. Methods: Participants worked on a cognitive "parity task" with integrated pictures of sad vs. angry faces that were briefly flashed (25 ms) vs. clearly visible (780 ms). We recorded cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) to assess effort mobilization. Results: As expected, PEP reactivity in the sadness-prime condition was stronger than in the anger-prime condition when the primes were briefly flashed, while the opposite pattern occurred when the affect primes were clearly visible. However, these effects only occurred for men, but not for women, as indicated by a significant prime x prime visibility x gender interaction. Conclusions: These findings provide new evidence for the role of prime visibility as a moderator of automatic effort mobilization-and suggest that this moderator effect applies especially to men.

Prime warning moderates implicit affect primes’ effect on effort-related cardiac response in men

“…This idea matches with other research that identified the awareness of external knowledge activation as a moderator of prime effects on evaluative judgments (e.g., Lombardi, Higgins, & Bargh, 1987;Murphy & Zajonc, 1993;Rotteveel, Groot, Geutskens, & Phaf, 2001;Strack, Schwarz, Bless, Kübler, & Wänke, 1993) and decision-making (e.g., Verwijmeren et al, 2013). Correspondingly, prime visibility-another manipulation of prime awareness-also moderated affect prime effects on effort mobilization (Chaillou et al, 2015;Framorando & Gendolla, 2018a, 2018bLasauskaite Schüpbach et al, 2014). Our present findings show that warning about the appearance of masked (i.e.…”

“…As in a recent study on the role of prime visibility on effort mobilization (Framorando & Gendolla, 2018b), the predicted Prime x Warning interaction effect in the present experiment was further moderated by participants' gender: the Prime x Warning interaction was only significant among men, while women only showed a prime main effect. One could argue that this gender effect conflicts with studies by Framorando and Gendolla (2018a) and Lasauskaite Schüpbach et al (2014), in which prime visibility significantly moderated affect primes' effect on effort mobilization in predominantly female samples.…”

“…This effect should be moderated by the prime-warning manipulation. Here, due to behavior correction, the prime effect should either be attenuated (e.g., Chaillou et al, 2015;Verwijmeren et al, 2013;Framorando & Gendolla, 2018a), or even turn into a prime-contrast effect in the case of overcorrection (e.g., Framorando & Gendolla, 2018b;Lasauskaite Schüpbach et al, 2014). In any case, we expected that prime-warning should moderate the effect of the affect primes.…”

“…Those studies did not permit conclusive tests of gender effects and one could argue that the documented effort effects of implicit affect may be limited to women-or even women studying psychology. Moreover, one recent study found that gender significantly moderated the effect of prime visibility on effort-related cardiac response (Framorando & Gendolla, 2018b): visible primes resulted in a prime contrast effect among men, but not among women. This calls for further tests of the role of gender.…”

“…Prime visibility has been found to be a boundary condition of automaticity: compared with masked affect primes, clearly visible primes either lost their effects (Chaillou, Giersch, Bonnefond, Custers, & Capa, 2015;Framorando & Gendolla, 2018a) or even led to inverted (i.e. contrast) effects on resource mobilization measures (Framorando & Gendolla, 2018b;Lasauskaite Schüpbach, Gendolla, & Silvestrini, 2014). Similarly, doubt or lack of confidence (DeMaree et al, 2012) and warning people of prime appearance were identified as boundary conditions of behavioral priming Verwijmeren, Karremans, Bernritter, Stroebe, & Wigboldus, 2013).…”