The influence of consonant wanderings and facial expressions in warmth and competence judgments

Abstract

ABSTRACT The preference for usernames whose oral pronunciation implies inward wandering articulatory movements over those involving outward movements - the in-out effect - has been shown to shape person perception judgments. Across three studies, we further tested the boundary conditions to this effect by combining the manipulation of the articulation direction of mock online usernames with one of the most critical cues for interpersonal judgments - facial expressions. As expected, users displaying smiling faces were rated as warmer and more competent than those displaying angry expressions. Notably, even in the presence of such diagnostic cues for social judgment, the articulatory activity involved in pronouncing a person’s name still affected the impressions formed, particularly in the warmth dimension. These results show that the in-out effect did not vanish even when highly diagnostic visual information was available. Overall, the current work further emphasises the role of sensorimotor experience in person perception while providing additional evidence for the in-out effect, its boundary conditions, and potential mechanisms.