Abstract
AbstractBased on a functional approach to credibility judgments, the authors hypothesize that receivers’ judgments of senders’ credibility involve an evaluative dimension (i.e., good–bad) and are associated with approach and avoidance tendencies. In three experiments (total N = 645), participants (receivers) judged the credibility of suspects (senders) denying involvement in a mock theft. While watching or reading the message, receivers performed an approach-related (arm flexion) or an avoidance-related (arm extension) motor action. Although receivers’ affective evaluations of senders (good–bad) correlated strongly with credibility judgments in all three experiments, the results of the arm position manipulation were mixed. In Experiment 1, receivers in an arm flexion (vs. arm extension) state judged the sender as more credible, but only when informed beforehand about the upcoming credibility judgment. In Experiment 2 and 3, however, there was no evidence of an arm position effect on credibility judgments. A cross-experimental meta-analysis revealed that the effect of the manipulation was statistically indistinguishable from zero, Hedges’ g = 0.07, 95% CI [−0.09, 0.22], and provided strong support for the null hypothesis. Multiple interpretations of the results are discussed.
Highlights
Based on a functional approach to credibility judgments, the authors hypothesize that receivers’ judgments of senders’ credibility involve an evaluative dimension and are associated with approach and avoidance tendencies
The results were consistent with the prediction that the effect of arm position would be stronger when receivers focus on the task of assessing veracity
We predicted that motor actions posited to be associated with approach and avoidance would influence the receiver’s judgments of senders’ credibility
Summary
Based on a functional approach to credibility judgments, the authors hypothesize that receivers’ judgments of senders’ credibility involve an evaluative dimension (i.e., good–bad) and are associated with approach and avoidance tendencies. Meta-analytic (Hartwig & Bond, 2011) and experimental (Levine et al, 2011; Reinhard & Sporer, 2010) evidence shows consistently that judgments of honesty are determined largely by variables related to the general impression of the sender, such as friendliness, pleasantness, attractiveness, and cooperativeness. Global judgments of this kind can be understood from the perspective of functional approaches to social cognition. The perception of credibility and honesty can be expected to involve evaluative mechanisms and be associated with rudimentary approach–avoidance tendencies
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