title: Are we puppets on a string? The contextual meaning of unconscious expressive cues.
abstract: In three studies, the authors show that unconscious expressive cues 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.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL 61820, USA. tamir@s.psych.uiuc.edu
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamir
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Gerald L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Clore
authors.forename: Leonard L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Whitaker
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D003463:Cues; D006257:Head; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D009068:Movement; D011187:Posture; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology; D014743:Videotape Recording; D014796:Visual Perception