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    Roland Neumann

    Recently, it has been shown that the activation of affect-induced emotional reactions (i.e., manual approach/avoidance movements) can be modulated by strategic practice. The present study explored whether this modulation would also apply... more
    Recently, it has been shown that the activation of affect-induced emotional reactions (i.e., manual approach/avoidance movements) can be modulated by strategic practice. The present study explored whether this modulation would also apply to affect-induced facial muscle contractions, which have been discussed to be relatively inflexibly linked to the processing of affective stimuli. In 2 experiments, participants conducted 2 different categorization tasks on positive and negative pictures of facial expressions (Experiment 1) or emotional scenes (Experiment 2) which were randomly framed in different colors. Black frames signaled to conduct an affective categorization which had to be executed either with a congruent or incongruent stimulus-response (S-R) mapping. Green or blue frames signaled to conduct a color classification (i.e., affective Simon task). Importantly, significant reductions of the affective Simon effect (that is, faster/more accurate positive [negative] responses to po...
    In 3 experiments, the authors tested the assumption that perceived movements toward a person trigger the approach system and thereby facilitate the processing of positive affective concepts, whereas perceived movements away from a person... more
    In 3 experiments, the authors tested the assumption that perceived movements toward a person trigger the approach system and thereby facilitate the processing of positive affective concepts, whereas perceived movements away from a person trigger the avoidance system and thereby facilitate the processing of negative affective concepts. In the 1st study, participants categorized positive words more quickly than negative words while flexing the arm and negative words more quickly than positive words while extending the arm. The 2nd study revealed that positive words were categorized more rapidly than negative words if viewers had the impression that they were moving toward the computer screen, whereas negative words were categorized faster if viewers had the impression that they were moving away from the screen. These findings were replicated in Experiment 3 using a lexical decision task instead of an adjective evaluation task.
    Several emotion theorists suggest that valenced stimuli automatically trigger motivational orientations and thereby facilitate corresponding behavior. Positive stimuli were thought to activate approach motivational circuits which in turn... more
    Several emotion theorists suggest that valenced stimuli automatically trigger motivational orientations and thereby facilitate corresponding behavior. Positive stimuli were thought to activate approach motivational circuits which in turn primed approach-related behavioral tendencies whereas negative stimuli were supposed to activate avoidance motivational circuits so that avoidance-related behavioral tendencies were primed (motivational orientation account). However, recent research suggests that typically observed affective stimulus-response compatibility phenomena might be entirely explained in terms of theories accounting for mechanisms of general action control instead of assuming motivational orientations to mediate the effects (evaluative coding account). In what follows, we explore to what extent this notion is applicable. We present literature suggesting that evaluative coding mechanisms indeed influence a wide variety of affective stimulus-response compatibility phenomena. However, the evaluative coding account does not seem to be sufficient to explain affective S-R compatibility effects. Instead, several studies provide clear evidence in favor of the motivational orientation account that seems to operate independently of evaluative coding mechanisms. Implications for theoretical developments and future research designs are discussed.
    Motivational states may be induced by affective foreground stimulation or via proprioceptive feedback by certain postures or body movements. In the present study, we addressed the question of an interaction between basic motor actions and... more
    Motivational states may be induced by affective foreground stimulation or via proprioceptive feedback by certain postures or body movements. In the present study, we addressed the question of an interaction between basic motor actions and the valence of visual stimuli in an affective modulation of startle paradigm: is the potentiation for aversive and the attenuation for pleasant stimuli more pronounced when the muscles for a congruent approach or avoidance action are activated? Thirty-four volunteers (20 female) watched emotional pictures on a computer screen while simultaneously contracting the flexor vs. extensor muscles of the upper arm. After 3-4s, an acoustic startle stimulus (105dB, binaural, instantaneous rise time) was presented via headphones. Arm movement interacted with picture valence: flexion, compared to extension, increased affective startle modulation (F=4.32, p<0.05). This result suggests integration and not simple summation of postural and body movement effects...
    How does affect impact approach and avoidance responses? Whereas approaches in a Darwinian tradition have emphasized a direct affect-behavior link, recent approaches in cognitive psychology have argued that the relation of affect to... more
    How does affect impact approach and avoidance responses? Whereas approaches in a Darwinian tradition have emphasized a direct affect-behavior link, recent approaches in cognitive psychology have argued that the relation of affect to approach and avoidance responses depends on the coding of the behavioral response. We suggest that the relation of affect to approach and avoidance responses depends on the kind of behavior itself. Specifically, we tested the assumption that facial approach and avoidance responses are permanently linked to affect, whereas such links are more flexible and dependent on the coding of actions with manual responses. In one experiment, the response labels sun and rain were assigned to manual approach and avoidance responses and facial contractions of the zygomaticus and the corrugator muscles. Manual responses were facilitated when stimulus valence matched the valence of the response labels, whereas facial responses were facilitated when stimulus valence match...
    According to cognitive approaches in emotion research, emotions hinge on beliefs that can be true or false. We suggest that emotionally relevant beliefs can be influenced bottom-up e.g. by the depth cues of a virtual environment or... more
    According to cognitive approaches in emotion research, emotions hinge on beliefs that can be true or false. We suggest that emotionally relevant beliefs can be influenced bottom-up e.g. by the depth cues of a virtual environment or top-down e.g. by reappraisal strategies. Our research question is if bottom-up and top-down processes influence the same belief structure or if different belief structures are responsible for bottom-up and top-down influences on emotions. To test these assumptions we exposed participants to a virtual environment that is able to elicit fear of heights and manipulated reappraisal for half of the participants. Moreover, we presented virtual scenes of heights in a monoscopic (less depth cues) and stereoscopic (more depth cues) mode in order to influence the confirmatory processes that are associated with beliefs. Subjective intensity of discomfort and the bending angle as a behavioural response were measured. We observed that although the depth cues and the r...
    Social cognition research has closely examined the processes that are involved in the correction for contaminating influences on judgment. Little is known, however, about how a contaminating influence is detected in the first place. To... more
    Social cognition research has closely examined the processes that are involved in the correction for contaminating influences on judgment. Little is known, however, about how a contaminating influence is detected in the first place. To remedy this shortcoming, we propose a source-monitoring perspective on the detection of bias. This framework suggests that contamination is more likely to occur if its
    In 3 experiments, the authors tested the assumption that perceived movements toward a person trigger the approach system and thereby facilitate the processing of positive affective concepts, whereas perceived movements away from a person... more
    In 3 experiments, the authors tested the assumption that perceived movements toward a person trigger the approach system and thereby facilitate the processing of positive affective concepts, whereas perceived movements away from a person trigger the avoidance system and thereby facilitate the processing of negative affective concepts. In the 1st study, participants categorized positive words more quickly than negative words while flexing the arm and negative words more quickly than positive words while extending the arm. The 2nd study revealed that positive words were categorized more rapidly than negative words if viewers had the impression that they were moving toward the computer screen, whereas negative words were categorized faster if viewers had the impression that they were moving away from the screen. These findings were replicated in Experiment 3 using a lexical decision task instead of an adjective evaluation task.
    The current studies aimed to find out whether a nonintentional form of mood contagion exists and which mechanisms can account for it. In these experiments participants who expected to be tested for text comprehension listened to an... more
    The current studies aimed to find out whether a nonintentional form of mood contagion exists and which mechanisms can account for it. In these experiments participants who expected to be tested for text comprehension listened to an affectively neutral speech that was spoken in a slightly sad or happy voice. The authors found that (a) the emotional expression induced a congruent mood state in the listeners, (b) inferential accounts to emotional sharing were not easily reconciled with the findings, (c) different affective experiences emerged from intentional and nonintentional forms of emotional sharing, and (d) findings suggest that a perception-behavior link (T. L. Chartrand & J. A. Bargh, 1999) can account for these findings, because participants who were required to repeat the philosophical speech spontaneously imitated the target person's vocal expression of emotion.
    Letters have a position in the alphabet and they have a position on standard personal computer keyboards. The present study explored the consequences of compatibility between spatial codes representing letter position in the alphabet and... more
    Letters have a position in the alphabet and they have a position on standard personal computer keyboards. The present study explored the consequences of compatibility between spatial codes representing letter position in the alphabet and on the keyboard. In Experiment 1, participants responded faster to letter dyads in an alphabetic order judgment task, when the letters' alphabetical order matched their left to right order on the keyboard. In Experiment 2, compatible dyads were typed more quickly than incompatible dyads. Finally, in Experiments 3 and 4, letter dyads with compatible alphabetical and keyboard sequences of letters were more preferred than dyads with incompatible orders. Together, these results suggest that the perception of letters concurrently activates 2 representations of ordinal sequences. Compatibility between these representations enhances performance as well as affective evaluations. Limitations of this alphabet-keyboard compatibility effect as well as implications for the development of formal typing courses and computer keyboard design are discussed.