The modulation of the evaluative priming effect by phasic affect

Abstract

Previous research suggests that affect modulates the sequential priming effect such that positive affect yields robust sequential priming effects, whereas negative affect inhibits them. Although this observation has received substantial empirical support for semantic priming effects (i.e., faster responding to a target word following the earlier presentation of a meaningfully related prime), the evidence is rather scant concerning evaluative priming effects (i.e., faster and/or more accurate evaluative responding to a target word when it is preceded by an evaluatively consistent rather than an evaluatively inconsistent prime). The present research aimed at filling this gap, demonstrating the impact of phasic (temporally short-lived) affect on evaluative priming effects. In doing so, we addressed the shortcomings of previous research as we implemented affective contexts that changed from trial to trial in a within-participants design. In Experiments 1 and 2, brief positive music excerpts yielded a reliable evaluative priming effect, whereas brief negative excerpts inhibited it. In Experiment 3, we replicated and generalized these findings using a proprioceptive facial feedback procedure. Our results corroborate and extend previous research by showing that brief negative affect inhibits priming effects as compared to brief positive affect or a control condition. These findings attest to the flexibility of the evaluative priming effect and suggest it is permeable to subtle affective contexts that influence its magnitude.