Emotion and the construal of social situations: Inferences of cooperation versus competition from expressions of anger, happiness, and disappointment
Abstract
The notion that emotional expressions regulate social life by providing information is gaining popularity. Prior research on the effects of emotional expressions on observers' inferential processes has focused mostly on inferences regarding the personality traits of the expresser, such as dominance and affiliation. We extend this line of research by exploring the possibility that emotional expressions shape observers' construal of social situations. Across three vignette studies, an interaction partner's expressions of anger, compared to expressions of happiness or disappointment, led observers to construe hypothetical situations as less cooperative, both in dyads and groups. These effects occurred even when factual information regarding the cooperativeness or competitiveness of the situation was provided, attesting to the power of emotional expressions in shaping the construal of social situations. Results are discussed in relation to appraisal theory, reverse appraisals, emotions as social information theory, and the emergence of cooperation in groups and cultures.
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Individuals use others' emotional expressions to gauge the interdependence structure of situations, with verbal and nonverbal expressions of anger leading observers to construe situations as less cooperative than expressions of happiness or disappointment.
“One series of studies showed that individuals use others’ emotional expressions to gauge the interdependence structure of situations, with verbal and nonverbal expressions of anger leading observers to construe situations as less cooperative than expressions of happiness or disappointment (Van Doorn et al. 2012).”
From The Social Effects of Emotions (2022) · cites this paper as Van Doorn et al. 2012
Cites
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The Social Effects of Emotions
van Kleef, G. A., & Côté, S. (2022) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-020821-010855 · Cited by 458 · see citing works
Self-citationDiener, E., Thapa, S., & Tay, L. (2020) · Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior · doi:10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-012119-044908 · Cited by 373 · see citing works
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Emotional influence in groups: the dynamic nexus of affect, cognition, and behavior
van Kleef, G. A., Heerdink, M. W., & Homan, A. C. (2017) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.07.017 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Van Doorn, E. A., Heerdink, M. W., & Van Kleef, G. A.
- Affiliations
- Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
- ORCID
- Heerdink, Marc W.
- Venue
- Cognition and Emotion
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2012-04
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 442-461
- ISSN
- 0269-9931 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-0600
- OpenAlex
- W2004181689
- Cited by
- 105
- References
- 8
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 8.66
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cognition & Emotion (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
- Keywords
- emotional expression, construal level, competition and cooperation, anger, happiness, disappointment, emotions as social information, appraisal theory, dyads
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Anger, Competitive Behavior, Cooperative Behavior, Emotions, Facial Expression, Female, Happiness, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Social Behavior, Social Perception
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