title: Individual differences in learning the affective value of others under minimal conditions.
abstract: This paper provides the first demonstration that people can learn about the positive and negative value of other people (e.g., neutral faces) under minimal learning conditions, with stable individual differences in this learning. In four studies, participants viewed neutral faces paired with sentences describing positive, negative or neutral behaviors on either two (Study 1) or four (Studies 2, 3, and 4) occasions. Participants were later asked to judge the valence of the faces alone. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that learning does occur under minimal conditions. Study 3 and 4 further demonstrated that the degree of learning was moderated by Extraversion. Finally, Study 4 demonstrated that initial learning persisted over a period of 2 days. Implications for affective processing and person perception are discussed.
authors: Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. blissmor@bc.edu
authors: Eliza
authors: E
authors: Bliss-Moreau
authors: Lisa Feldman
authors: LF
authors: Barrett
authors: Christopher I
authors: CI
authors: Wright
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D004777:Environment; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male; D012938:Social Perception