On graves and graven images: A terror management analysis of the psychological functions of art

Functional approaches to emotion are rapidly gaining in popularity. Thus far the functions of emotions have been conceptualised and studied mainly at the intrapersonal level of analysis, the key question being how individuals are influenced by the emotions they experience. Relatively little is known about the interpersonal effects of emotions; that is, how one person's emotions influence other people's cognitions, attitudes, and behaviours. We propose that a primary function of emotion at this interpersonal level of analysis is to engender social influence. Our analysis is informed by emotion as social information theory (EASI; Van Kleef, 2009 Van Kleef, G. A., Homan, A. C., Beersma, B., van Knippenberg, D., van Knippenberg, B. and Damen, F. 2009. Searing sentiment or cold calculation? The effects of leader emotional displays on team performance depend on follower epistemic motivation. Academy of Management Journal, 52: 562–580. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). This theory posits that emotional expressions produce interpersonal effects by triggering affective reactions and/or inferential processes in targets, depending on the target's information processing and the perceived appropriateness of the emotional expression. We review supportive evidence from various domains of social influence, including negotiation, leadership, attitude change, compliance, and conformity in groups. We consider the viability of emotional expressions as tools of social influence, discuss the functional equivalence of various forms of emotional expression, and address implications for theorising about emotion regulation and the functionality and evolution of emotion.     

Interpersonal perception in cross-group interactions: Challenges and potential solutions

This review provides a framework for theorising about the processes that give rise to interpersonal perception during encounters between two individuals who belong to different groups. Consistent with a dyadic approach, interpersonal perception is considered a function of the unique and combined effects of the perceptions and behaviours of both partners involved in the interaction. A model is presented in which negative expectancies give rise to feelings of anxiety and behavioural displays of anxiety, both of which in turn influence interpersonal judgements. Factors that vary at the level of the perceiver, target, and the interaction are examined as moderators of interpersonal perception. Lastly, given that the study of interpersonal perception within cross-group dyadic encounters is relatively new, several strategies that show promise for improving interpersonal perception are discussed. Turning towards the future this article concludes by discussing how research and theory outside the domain of intergroup relations can be used to develop innovative methods for improving perception processes.     

Active and passive-touch during interpersonal multisensory stimulation change self–other boundaries

In the “enfacement” illusion seeing an unfamiliar face being touched at the same time as one’s own face evokes changes in self-face recognition. We investigated the contribution of proprioceptive and motor signals derived from self-generated actions in the sensory-driven malleability of self–other boundaries during the “enfacement” illusion. Changes in self-face recognition during active- and passive-touch interpersonal visuo-tactile stimulation were quantified by means of psychophysical and psychometric tasks. Active- and passive-touch evoked comparable changes in the categorical boundaries of self–other distinction, changing the extent to which the other is assimilated into the mental self-representation. Actively touching or simply feeling touch on one’s own face with concurrent observed touch on someone else’s face seems to elicit comparable changes in self-recognition, suggesting that afferent input might be sufficient for updating one’s body-image, although some components of the experience of self-identification seem to be more affected by passive- than by active-touch.     

Instrumental lying by parents in the US and China

The practice of lying to one's children to encourage behavioral compliance was investigated among parents in the US (N = 114) and China (N = 85). The vast majority of parents (84% in the US and 98% in China) reported having lied to their children for this purpose. Within each country, the practice most frequently took the form of falsely threatening to leave a child alone in public if he or she refused to follow the parent. Crosscultural differences were seen: A larger proportion of the parents in China reported that they employed instrumental lie‐telling to promote behavioral compliance, and a larger proportion approved of this practice, as compared to the parents in the US. This difference was not seen on measures relating to the practice of lying to promote positive feelings, or on measures relating to statements about fantasy characters such as the tooth fairy. Findings are discussed with reference to sociocultural values and certain parenting‐related challenges that extend across cultures.     

Interpersonal trust and market value moderates the bias in women’s preferences away from attractive high-status men

Women appear to exhibit a subtle reluctance to engage in long-term relationships with physically attractive, high-status men. We propose that this bias away from men of very high market value is based on fear that these males may desert a relationship and also on the comparative self-perceived market value of the women. Therefore, interpersonal trust and perceived market value should moderate the extent of this counterintuitive bias. To test this proposal, we asked women with varying levels of interpersonal trust and self-perceived desirability to consider physically-attractive and physically-average men of high, medium and low socioeconomic status and rate each in terms of attractiveness as a long-term partner. Results showed that women’s perceptions of their own desirability and their level of trust predicted their ratings of men with high-value in the mating market, and that women with high levels of both desirability and trust were less likely to show a bias away from high-value men. Interpersonal trust and desirability moderate the degree to which women find physically attractive men attractive as potential partners.     

I will help you because we are similar: Quality of contact mediates the effect of perceived similarity on facilitative behaviour towards immigrants

This research aimed to analyse interpersonal behaviour towards immigrants by exploring related psychosocial variables such as intergroup similarity and quality of intergroup contact. A new interpersonal behavioural tendencies scale was developed. In Study 1, Spanish participants reported their willingness to take different actions towards a Moroccan (i.e. a devalued target, n = 132) or an Ecuadorian (i.e. a valued target, n = 138), perceived intergroup similarity and quality of intergroup contact. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis identified the expected dimensions: active facilitation (AF), passive facilitation (PF), passive harm (PH) and active harm (AH). Participants reported less similarity, less pleasant contact, less AF and less PF, and more PH with respect to Moroccans relative to Ecuadorians. Quality of contact mediated the effect of perceived similarity on interpersonal behaviour (especially facilitative behaviour) towards immigrants. Study 2 (N = 134) confirmed that this mediation effect also applied to Romanian immigrants, and tested a serial mediation pathway, in which perceived similarity affected symbolic threat, which in turn affected quality of contact, which finally affected behaviour. Changing perceived intergroup similarity might be a way of improving the quality of contact with minority groups, and this would be expected to increase pro‐social behaviour towards such groups.     

The high costs of low agreeableness: Low agreeableness exacerbates interpersonal consequences of rejection sensitivity in U.S. and Chinese adolescents

Although personality is a powerful predictor of adjustment, its potential moderating effects have been less studied in youth. This investigation examined why some youth are more susceptible to the negative consequences of rejection sensitivity than others. Two separate studies tested the hypothesis that agreeableness moderates the links between rejection sensitivity and interpersonal outcomes. Study 1 included 198 boys and 264 girls from the U.S.A. (M = 14.24 years old). Study 2 included 86 boys and 115 girls from China (M = 14.21 years old). Across studies, low agreeableness and high rejection sensitivity were uniquely associated with withdrawal, friendship dissatisfaction, and adverse conflict consequences. Cross-cultural replication underscores the universality of the risk confronting low agreeable youth with elevated rejection sensitivity.     

Intrapersonal variability in interpersonal perception in romantic relationships: Biases and accuracy

We examined whether intrapersonal variability in the perception of partner’s behavior, perception spin, was related to partner’s intrapersonal variability in behavior, behavioral spin, and was associated with biases in the perception of negative affect. Ninety-three cohabiting couples reported their perceptions of partner’s affect and partner’s communal and agentic behavior in interactions with each other for 20 days. Perception spin was calculated as the within-person standard deviation of perception scores across interactions. Spin in the perception of the partner was associated with the partner’s behavioral spin. Participants with higher perception spin overestimated their partner’s negative affect and more strongly assumed that their partner’s affect was similar to their own negative affect. Thus, perception spin is an individual difference variable that reflects in part the extent of variability in the partner’s behavior, but higher spin also indicates distortions in perceptions of others.     

Social rejection and self- versus other-awareness

Recent research (Twenge, Catanese, & Baumeister, 2003) demonstrated decreased self-awareness among socially-rejected individuals as a defensive strategy designed to buffer the self from the acute distress of rejection. In the present study, we sought to demonstrate that this decreased self-awareness among socially-rejected individuals is: (a) primarily evident in social domains, as opposed to non-social domains and (b) accompanied by increased awareness of others’ behavior. Using a social memory paradigm, we found that rejected participants exhibited better memory for other-related social behaviors, but poorer memory for self-related social behaviors in comparison to accepted participants. These data provide evidence for a two-pronged response to social rejection characterized by both self-protective strategies and strategies aimed at regaining and maintaining social relationships.