Emotions and
Perception
Class 16
UPDATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. Guest Lecture: TA, Meg Speer, April 13
2. Quiz 2: April 20
3. Final: May 9
4. Diary Study:
Begins today: March 28
Last diary entry: April 20
Diary assignment: April 20
Write-up due: April 27
Daily Mood Diary
Date:_________________
Mood
None
Very
Little
Moderate
Amount
A
Lot
A
Great
Degree
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
5
5
Happy Mood
Sad Mood
Anxious Mood
Angry / Irritable Mood
Relationship Stress
Work/school/financial Stress
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
How many hours sleep
did you get last night?
Notes and observations about significant events or experiences going on in your life. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED
TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION, BUT MAY DRAW ON IT IF YOU WISH TO DO SO.
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
3
Emotions Diary Exercise
Create packet of 8 diaries, including today's
Complete diary at start of class, from last Tuesday to April 23
On April 23 I will provide materials for analyzing your diaries.
NOTE: I will not see your individual diaries--that is yours. What you
write on them is for your eyes only!
Emotions and Perception: The New Look
a. Value and need shape perception
They Saw a Game,
Hastorf & Cantrel,1954.
Albert Hastorf
1921-2011
Value and need---in perception:
Bruner & Postman, 1947
Fear and Perception of Height and Distance
Stefanucci, Gagnon, Tompkins, & Bullock, 2012
Study 1
Subjects imagine falling from height onto
a. Control: An empty pool
b. Threat: A pool containing a bed of nails
Control subjects stood above empty pool
Threat subjects stood above nail-filled pool
TASK: How high up are you?
Study 2
Subjects imagine jump and land in:
a. Control: An empty pool or
b. Threat: A pool containing a bed of nails
Control subjects stood before empty pool
Threat subjects stood before nail-filled pool
TASK: How far is distance across pool?
6
7
A m o u n t
O v e r e s t
i m a t e
Psychosocial Resources

Social Support

Self Worth, Self Esteem

Self-Efficacy

Emotional Disclosure
8
Resources and Coping





Reduced depression and anxiety
Reduced cardiovascular response to stress
Reduced levels of norepinephrine, epinephrine, cortisol
Better immune functioning
Fewer colds, fewer heart attacks, quicker recovery
post-MI, reduced cancer, easier childbirth, etc.
9
Emotional Support and
Mortality After Heart Attack
(Berkman et al., 1992)
Mortality Rate
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Emotional Support
Absent
Emotional Support
Present
10
How Do Emotional Resources “Work”?
Affects the way stressors are experienced
Instrumental and informational benefits
Psycho-social benefits
 Belonging
 Enhanced
self worth
 Existential gains: meaningfulness, control, ordered world
Affects the way that stressors are perceived?
11
Stress Amplifies Perception

“Loomingness” e.g., of spiders
(Riskind et al., 1995).

Visual “boundary reduction”
(Mathews & Mackintosh, 2004)

Anxiety and pain
(Rhudy & Meager, 2000)

Time duration and abstinence
(Klein et al., 2003)
Resources Reduce Stress
Resources and Perception Model
Challenging things  negative arousal  amplified percept.
Resources reduce negative arousal.
Resources should moderate perception of challenging things.
Boosted resources  less amplified perception
Depleted resources  more amplified perception
Resources and Perception Program
Resources moderate:
Social Perception – others’ distress
Visual Perception – steepness, distance, height
Social Contexts and Cry Ratings
Harber, Einav, & Lang, (2008). European J. Social Psych, 38, 296-314.
Study 1

Participants n = 140 female undergraduates

Cover story: Mental imagery and social perception

Social context manipulation: Guided imagery task
Positive Support: Image most satisfying source of emotional support
Neutral Contact: Image someone you neither like nor dislike
Negative Contact: Image person who betrayed your trust

Rate baby cries
Baby cries evoke strong reactions
People use own reactions to interpret baby cries
Cries are ambiguous, permit reaction-based interpretation
Cry Samples

Male infants undergoing surgical circumcision.

Detailed explanation regarding procedure.

8 cries, about 5 sec. each, mixed order
4 low intensity
4 moderate intensity
Cry Ratings by Social Context
4.5
Cry Ratings
4.3
4.1
3.9
3.7
3.5
Positive
Neutral
Negative
Mood: F (1, 138) = 10.85, p < .01
Social context (controlling for mood): F (2, 138) = 3.36 p < .04
Baby Cry Study 2:
Does Emotional Disclosure Moderate the
Effect of Betrayal on Cry Perception?

Recalling a betrayal depleted resources, leading to
amplified perception of others’ distress.

Emotional disclosure bolsters resources.

Disclosure should therefore counteract the amplifying
effects of negative social contexts.
Method

n = 121 females

Cover story: Mental imagery and social perception

Social context: Mentally image positive, neutral, or
negative contact

Disclosure task
Suppress: Describe imaged person factually
Disclose: Thoughts and feelings regarding imaged person

Rate baby cries
Social Context and Emotional Disclosure
on Baby Cry Ratings
4.6
Cry Ratings
4.4
4.2
Suppress
Disclose
4
3.8
3.6
Positive
Neutral
Negative
Social Context
Positive Suppress vs. Negative Suppress: p < .05
Social Context and Emotional Disclosure
on Baby Cry Ratings
4.6
Cry Ratings
4.4
4.2
Suppress
Disclose
4
3.8
3.6
Positive
Neutral
Social Context
Support X Disclosure: p < .05
Negative Express vs. Negative Suppress: p < .05
Negative
Reactions to Imaged Person and
Cry Intensity Ratings
Neg.
Neg.
Neut.
Neut.
Pos.
Pos.
Suppress Disclose Suppress Disclose Suppress Disclose
n = 17
n = 18
n = 15
n = 16
n = 17
n = 18
Unpleasant to image the
target person and Cry Rating
.44+
.07
.10
-.01
-.28
.01
Unpleasant to write about the
target person and Cry Rating
.51*
.12
-.18
.11
-.37
-.31
Note: + = p < .10, * = p < .05
Summary of Baby Cry Study
 Betrayal
(depleted resource) amplified cries
 Disclosure (boosted resource) moderated cries
 Probably not
a mood effect
 Probably not
a priming effect
Psychosocial Resources and
Psychophysical Judgment

Do resource affects extend to visual perception?
Do we literally see things differently under ample vs. depleted
resources?

Do resources affect accuracy of perception?
Baby cry studies do not address accuracy.

Do resources other than social support affect perception?
Social Support and Slant Perception
Schnall, Harber, Stefanucci, & Proffitt (2008). Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 1246-1255
Conscious slant perception of hills is
exaggerated (5% is seen as 20%, etc.).
Slant distortion is lessened under lower
physical load
-----
Light back pack vs. heavy back pack
Physically refreshed vs. fatigued
Good physical cond. vs. poor cond.
Younger vs. older
Is slant distortion reduced under lower
psychological load?
Study 1: Do hills appear different when
alone vs. with a friend?
Participants Passersby at campus walk
Alone (n = 14)
Same-sex friend pairs (n = 17; both participate)
All wear heavy backpack, face steep hill
Hand protractor
Measures
Verbal: “How steep is this hill, in degrees?”
Visual Judgment: hand protractor
Haptic: palm board
Palm board
Social Support and Slant
70
60
50
40
Alone
30
With Friend
20
10
0
Verbal
Visual
Haptic
Verbal: p < .05
Visual: p < .06
Hapitic p < .93
Note: Line represents actual slant
Effects of Friendship Duration and
Mood on Slant Perception
Friendship Duration
(in months)
Mood
(negative)
Verbal r = -.49, p < .05
Verbal r = -.01, p = ns
Visual r = -.50, p < .05
Visual r = -.13, p = ns
Haptic r = -.14, p = ns
Haptic r = .01, p = ns
Study 1 Alternative Explanations
Instrumental Support
Social Desirability
Social Facilitation
Sampling Bias
Study 2 Remedies
n = 36, 49% female
Imaged other: Positive, Neutral, Negative
Random Assignment
Slant Study 2:
Imaged Support and Slant Perception
70
60
Degrees
50
Positive
40
Neutral
Negative
30
20
10
Verbal
Verbal
p < .05
Visual
p < .04
Haptic
p > .73
Visual
Haptic
Measure
Note: Line represents actual slant
Correlations Between Relationship
Quality and Slant Perception
Verbal
Visual
Haptic
Measure
Measure
Measure
Close
-.37*
-.36*
.10
Warm
-.33*
-.28
.22
Happy
-.39*
-.20
.12
Notes: Effects retained when controlling for mood
* = p < .05
Resources and Distance Perception
Harber, Iacovelli, & Yeung, 2012 (Study 1)

Will psychosocial resources also moderate
distance perception?

Will self-worth serve as resource?
Self Worth Induction
Boosted: Image best success
Unchanged: Image doing laundry
Depleted: Image worst failure
N = 107, 63% female
Distance Estimation Task
Target Objects
Low Threat
High Threat
Distance Accuracy as a Function of Object
(Threat v. Non-threat) and Self Worth
Exaggerated Closeness
8
7
6
5
Tarantula
Cat Toy
4
3
2
1
0
Positive
Neutral
Negative
Distance Accuracy as a Function of Object
(Threat v. Non-threat) and Self Worth
Exaggerated Closeness
8
7
6
5
Tarantula
Cat Toy
4
3
2
1
0
Positive
Neutral
Negative
Evidence of Self-Worth Moderation
Tarantula
Distance
Neutral Object
Distance
Felt good
about self
r (55) = -.27 *
r (48) = -.01
Felt bad
about self
r (55) = +.31 *
r (48) = .13
* p < .05
Self Esteem, External Support, and Height Judgments
Harber, Iacovelli, & Yeung, 2012 (Study 2)
PHOTO LOOKING DOWN STAIRWELL
N = XXX, XX% female, age = XX.XX
Do resources moderate
height judgments?
Does trait self esteem
operate as a resource?
Do internal resources
supplement external
resources?
Self Esteem, External Support,
and Height Perception
140
Height in Feet
120
100
80
High Esteem
Low Esteem
60
40
20
0
Hands on Rail
Hands Taped
Self Esteem, External Support,
and Height Perception
140
Height in Feet
120
100
80
High Esteem
Low Esteem
60
40
20
0
Hands on Rail
Hands Taped
Conclusions

Resources affect the perception of :
Others’ distress (baby cries)
Distance to stressors (tarantulas)
Heights
Hill slants

Similar effects derive from different resources:
Social support
Emotional disclosure
Self worth
Self esteem

(baby cries, hill slant)
(baby cries)
(distance to tarantula)
(height)
Resources may enhance coping by moderating stressor perception