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Cited by 708Face Recognition and PerceptionPsychology of Social InfluenceEmotions and Moral Behavior

Unconscious affective reactions to masked happy versus angry faces influence consumption behavior and judgments of value.

Winkielman, Piotr, Berridge, Kent C., Wilbarger, Julia L.·2005·Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
DOI 10.1177/0146167204271309
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Abstract

The authors explored three properties of basic, unconsciously triggered affective reactions: They can influence consequential behavior, they work without eliciting conscious feelings, and they interact with motivation. The authors investigated these properties by testing the influence of subliminally presented happy versus angry faces on pouring and consumption of beverage (Study 1), perception of beverage value (Study 2), and reports of conscious feelings (both studies). Consistent with incentive motivation theory, the impact of affective primes on beverage value and consumption was strongest for thirsty participants. Subliminal smiles caused thirsty participants to pour and consume more beverage (Study 1) and increased their willingness to pay and their wanting more beverage (Study 2). Subliminal frowns had the opposite effect. No feeling changes were observed, even in thirsty participants. The results suggest that basic affective reactions can be unconscious and interact with incentive motivation to influence assessment of value and behavior toward valenced objects.

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Crossref · 10.1177/0146167204271309

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  • In ordinary adults under certain circumstances, subliminally brief visual flashes of happy or angry facial expressions can elicit unconscious affective reactions, either positive or negative, which produce no change in subjective mood reports but control motivated behavior some minutes afterward.

    “Further, in ordinary adults under certain circumstances, subliminally brief visual flashes of happy or angry facial expressions can elicit unconscious affective reactions, either positive or negative, which produced no change in subjective mood reports but nonetheless controlled motivated behavior some minutes afterward (Winkielman et al., 2005).”

    From Evolving Concepts of Emotion and Motivation (2018) · cites this paper as Winkielman et al., 2005

  • In that study, participants' subjective ratings of mood or emotion were not changed at all by exposures to subliminal and backward-masked emotional faces, whether happy or angry.

    “Their subjective ratings of mood or emotion were not changed at all by exposures to subliminal and backward-masked emotional faces, whether happy or angry (Winkielman et al., 2005).”

    From Evolving Concepts of Emotion and Motivation (2018) · cites this paper as Winkielman et al., 2005

  • Subliminal viewing of angry faces had an opposite negative-valenced impact on the same thirsty participants: they poured less, drank less, and were willing to pay less than after seeing only neutral facial expressions, again without any intervening change in their subjective ratings of emotional mood.

    “Valence was evident in that subliminal viewing of angry faces had an opposite negative-valenced impact on the same thirsty participants: they poured less, drank less, and were willing to pay less than after seeing only neutral facial expressions – again without any intervening change in their subjective ratings of emotional mood (Berridge and Winkielman, 2003; Winkielman et al., 2005).”

    From Evolving Concepts of Emotion and Motivation (2018) · cites this paper as Winkielman et al., 2005

  • These unconscious affects were evident only if participants were already thirsty.

    “In passing, it is important that these unconscious affects were evident only if participants were already thirsty (Winkielman et al., 2005).”

    From Evolving Concepts of Emotion and Motivation (2018) · cites this paper as Winkielman et al., 2005

  • Emotion plays a role in decision-making.

    “It is widely acknowledged that emotion plays a role in decision-making, drawing on evidence from numerous behavioral studies using emotional stimuli as well as physiological, neuroimaging, and lesion studies.”

    From Thinking like a trader selectively reduces individuals' loss aversion (2009) · cites this paper as [7]

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Authors
Winkielman, P., Berridge, K. C., & Wilbarger, J. L.
Affiliations
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
Corresponding author
Winkielman, Piotr
ORCID
Venue
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2005-01
Volume
31
Issue
1
Pages
121-135
ISSN
  • 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
  • 1552-7433
DOI
10.1177/0146167204271309
OpenAlex
W1997282805
Cited by
708
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 71 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 33 · 2017: 35 · 2016: 37 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 46 · 2013: 40 · 2012: 40
FWCI
7.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Psychology of Social Influence
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Keywords
subliminal priming, affective reactions, happy faces, angry faces, facial expressions, incentive motivation, thirst, beverage consumption, willingness to pay, value judgments, unconscious processes, consumer behavior
MeSH terms
Adult, Affect, Analysis of Variance, Anger, Awareness, Drinking Behavior, Facial Expression, Female, Happiness, Humans, Judgment, Male, Motivation, Psychological Theory, Thirst, Unconscious, Psychology, Linear Models

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