Directionality of affective priming: effects of trait anxiety and activation level

Among the most influential models of automatic affective processing is the spreading activation account (Fazio, Sanbonmatsu, Powell, & Kardes, 1986). However, investigations of this model by different research groups using the pronunciation task in an affective priming paradigm yielded contradictory results. Whereas one research group reported congruency effects, another obtained reversed priming effects (contrast effects), and still another found null effects. In Experiment 1, we were able to show an influence of trait anxiety on the direction of the affective priming effect. By using a multiple priming paradigm in Experiment 2, we were able to link the occurrence of reversed priming effects to increased levels of activation of affective representations. We propose that this relation might underlie the influence of trait anxiety on the direction of affective priming effects. Both experiments indicate that automatic evaluation in an affective network is substantially moderated by personality traits and activation level.