INVESTIGATING THE LIMITS OF HOW EXPECTATION CAN SHAPE AFFECTIVE JUDGEMENT A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences 2016 ADAM LAWRENCE SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2 CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................................... 8 LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... 10 ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 11 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................. 12 DECLARATION ........................................................................................................................................ 13 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ........................................................................................................................ 13 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................... 14 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 15 1.1 Preface ........................................................................................................................................ 15 1.2 Assimilation-Contrast Theory...................................................................................................... 19 1.2.1 Defining assimilation and contrast effects ............................................................................. 19 1.2.2 Investigating the time course of assimilation effects ............................................................. 20 1.2.3 Establishing the need to determine the boundaries of assimilation effects .......................... 22 1.3 Predictive coding and the prediction error hypothesis ............................................................... 24 1.3.1 Predictive coding of liking ...................................................................................................... 24 1.3.2 Predictive coding as Bayesian inference ................................................................................ 26 1.3.3 Prediction errors – A neurological marker of expectation? ................................................... 27 1.4 Promoting affective expectations ............................................................................................... 29 1.4.1 Affective priming .................................................................................................................... 29 1.4.2 Priming affective values and measuring changes in stimulus liking ....................................... 30 1.5 The aims of the current investigation ......................................................................................... 31 2 GENERAL METHODS ....................................................................................................................... 32 2.1 Participants ................................................................................................................................. 32 2.2 Questionnaire measures ............................................................................................................. 32 2.2.1 The LOT-R ............................................................................................................................... 33 2.3 Experimental behavioural paradigms ......................................................................................... 33 2.4 Implicit attitude measures .......................................................................................................... 34 2.4.1 The IAT .................................................................................................................................... 34 2.4.2 The GNAT................................................................................................................................ 36 2.5 The Psychometric Function ......................................................................................................... 38 2.6 Statistical analysis ....................................................................................................................... 40 3 3 INVESTIGATING THE INFLUENCE OF AFFECTIVE EXPECTATIONS USING ATTRACTIVE AND UNATTRACTIVE FACES ........................................................................................................................... 41 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................41 Experiment 1 .............................................................................................................................................45 3.2 Methods.......................................................................................................................................45 3.2.1 Participants .............................................................................................................................45 3.2.2 Stimuli and apparatus .............................................................................................................45 3.2.3 Design and procedure .............................................................................................................47 3.2.4 Data analysis ...........................................................................................................................49 3.3 Results .........................................................................................................................................50 3.3.1 Attractiveness ratings for parent faces ...................................................................................50 3.3.2 Attractiveness ratings for 30% and 70% anchors ....................................................................50 3.3.3 Attractiveness ratings for presentations between 40% and 60% morph ...............................51 3.4 Interim discussion ........................................................................................................................53 Experiment 2 .............................................................................................................................................55 3.5 Amended design ..........................................................................................................................55 3.6 Methods.......................................................................................................................................56 3.6.1 Participants .............................................................................................................................56 3.6.2 Stimuli and apparatus .............................................................................................................56 3.6.3 Design and procedure .............................................................................................................57 3.6.4 Data analysis ...........................................................................................................................59 3.7 Results .........................................................................................................................................61 3.7.1 Liking ratings for each attractiveness level .............................................................................61 3.7.2 The effect of gender ................................................................................................................61 3.7.3 The effect of cue .....................................................................................................................62 3.8 Discussion ....................................................................................................................................63 3.9 Conclusion....................................................................................................................................65 4 AFFECTIVE ASSIMILATION AND CONTRAST EFFECTS THROUGH THE OBSERVATION OF HAPPY AND SAD EMOTIONAL FACES ......................................................................................................................... 66 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................66 Experiment 3 .............................................................................................................................................71 4.2 Methods.......................................................................................................................................71 4.2.1 Participants .............................................................................................................................71 4.2.2 Stimuli and apparatus .............................................................................................................71 4.2.3 Design and procedure .............................................................................................................72 4.2.4 Presentation conditions ..........................................................................................................74