Emotional faces are one of the most prominent sources for social inferences, and many of these inferences come along automatic (i.e., fast, efficient, unintentional, non-consciously). Research in this field has a long tradition in experimental psychology, and many implicit methods were developed to target the processing of social information from faces. Yet, the research so far focused mostly on the evaluative dimension, static features, and lab experiments. Our symposium brings together latest research approaches studying the influence of emotional faces in social cognition, using new (potentially more ecologically valid) approaches, and spanning some of the most recent debated issues. In detail, Emre Gurbuz’ talk focuses on the dynamics of facial features (i.e., emotion, ethnicity) and how these impact evaluative priming effects – a so far often neglected issue. Vanessa Mitschke’s research is targeting reactions to others with a very different, yet also dynamic approach: In a series of studies, she found more efficient response inhibition of facial muscle activation towards disliked targets in a go/nogo task. Janet Wessler investigated the influence of facial information in online-negotiations, showing that facial trustworthiness influences anchoring effects. Using a new, endogenous cueing paradigm, Timea Folyi and colleagues highlight that emotional information can be used in a flexible, goal-relevant manner, however, only, if participants intentionally and explicitly make use of the context-bound meaning of the emotional faces. Michaela Rohr’s talk focuses on the role of physiological facial information in behavioral measures, suggesting that simulation of activated mental content might drive physiological activity.Emotional faces are one of the most prominent sources for social inferences, and many of these inferences come along automatic (i.e., fast, efficient, unintentional, non-consciously). Research in this field has a long tradition in experimental psychology, and many implicit methods were developed to
target the processing of social information from faces. Yet, the research so far focused mostly on the evaluative dimension, static features, and lab experiments. Our symposium brings together latest research approaches studying the influence of emotional faces in social cognition, using new (potentially more ecologically valid) approaches, and spanning some of the most recent debated issues. In detail, Emre Gurbuz’ talk focuses on the dynamics of facial features (i.e., emotion, ethnicity) and how these impact evaluative priming effects – a so far often neglected issue. Vanessa Mitschke’s research is targeting reactions to others with a very different, yet also dynamic
approach: In a series of studies, she found more efficient response inhibition of facial muscle activation towards disliked targets in a go/nogo task. Janet Wessler investigated the influence of facial information in online-negotiations, showing that facial trustworthiness influences anchoring effects. Using a new, endogenous cueing paradigm, Timea Folyi and colleagues highlight that emotional information can be used in a flexible, goal-relevant manner, however, only, if participants intentionally and explicitly make use of the context-bound meaning of the emotional faces. Michaela Rohr’s talk focuses on the role of physiological facial information in behavioral measures, suggesting that simulation of activated mental content might drive physiological activity.