Work

Rear negativity: Verbal messages coming from behind are perceived as more negative

Year: 2019

Type: article

Abstract: Many studies have explored the evaluative effects of vertical (up/down) or horizontal (left/right) spatial locations. However, little is known about the role of information that comes from the front and back. Basing our investigations on multiple theoretical considerations, we propose that spatial location of sounds is a cue for message valence, such that a message coming from behind is interpreted as more negative than a message presented in front of a listener. Here we show across a variety of manipulations and dependent measures that this effect occurs in the domain of social information. Our data are most compatible with theoretical accounts which propose that social information presented from behind is associated with uncertainty and lack of control, which is amplified in conditions of self‐relevance.

Source: European Journal of Social Psychology

DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2649

Authors: Natalia Frankowska, Michal Parzuchowski, Bogdan Wojciszke, Michal Olszanowski, Piotr Winkielman

Institutions: Uniwersytet SWPS, University of California San Diego

Language: English

Topic: Tactile and Sensory Interactions

Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,000

Funder: Narodowe Centrum Nauki