Amplification in the evaluation of multiple emotional expressions over time.

ABSTRACT: Social interactions are dynamic and unfold over time. To make sense of social interactions, people must aggregate sequential information into summary, global evaluations. But how do people do this? Here, to address this question, we conducted nine studies (N = 1,583) using a diverse set of stimuli. Our focus was a central aspect of social interaction-namely, the evaluation of others' emotional responses. The results suggest that when aggregating sequences of images and videos expressing varying degrees of emotion, perceivers overestimate the sequence's average emotional intensity. This tendency for overestimation is driven by stronger memory of more emotional expressions. A computational model supports this account and shows that amplification cannot be explained only by nonlinear percepti

SUBMITTER: Goldenberg A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10263387 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature