It takes time (not money) to understand: Money reduces attentiveness to common ground in communication

Communication is a central part of social life. Successful communication requires going beyond the semantic meaning of words by being attentive to the interaction's common ground, that is, considering what actors know and believe to be mutually known about the situation. Drawing on previous literature suggesting that thoughts about money reduce social interaction whereas thoughts about time increase it, we propose that thinking about money compared to time reduces attentiveness towards the common ground. In support of this, we find that individuals who had been thinking about money compared to time were less likely to interpret two similar questions as distinct, even though asking the same question twice would be violating conversational norms (Study 1). Moreover, they were less likely to note ambiguity in a euphemistic description (Study 2), thus illustrating that lower attentiveness to the interaction's common ground can be a double-edged sword

The Snacking Chameleon: Psychological Proximity Increases Imitation of Food Intake Independently of Brand Choice

Observing other people snacking can affect one’s own consumption behavior. The present experiment tested whether temporal distance moderates imitation of brand choice and the number of snacks consumed. Based on previous research demonstrating that psychological distance (e.g., temporal or spatial distance) reduces imitation of movements, we hypothesized that participants would imitate the amount of food intake to a lesser degree when they temporally distance themselves from a model person. To test this idea, participants (n = 113) were asked to imagine their life either the next day (proximal condition) or in one year (distant condition). Next, participants watched a video clip depicting a model person who chose one of two brands of pretzels and ate either plenty or just a few of the pretzels. Then, participants chose one of the two brands of pretzels, served themselves as many of the pretzels as they liked, and ate them while filling in a tasting questionnaire. As expected, participants primed with proximity imitated snack intake more than participants primed with distance. The brand choice was not affected by self-distancing. Implications for snacking behavior are discussed

Faced with exclusion: Perceived facial warmth and competence influence moral judgments of social exclusion

The current research investigates how facial appearance can act as a cue that guides observers' feelings and moral judgments about social exclusion episodes. In three studies, we manipulated facial portraits of allegedly ostracized persons to appear more or less warm and competent. Participants perceived it as least morally acceptable to exclude a person that appeared warm-and-incompetent. Moreover, participants perceived it as most acceptable to exclude a cold-and-incompetent looking person. In Study 2, we also varied the faces of the excluding group (i.e., the ostracizers). Results indicate that typical ostracizers are imagined as cold-and-incompetent looking. Study 3 suggests that the effect of a target's facial appearance on moral judgment is mediated by feelings of disgust. In sum, people's moral judgment about social exclusion can be influenced by facial appearance, which has many implications in intergroup research, such as for bystander intervention

Catalyzing decisions: How a coin flip strengthens affective reactions

When individuals are undecided between options, they may flip a coin or use other aids that produce random outcomes to support decision-making. Such aids lead to clear suggestions, which, interestingly, individuals do not necessarily follow. Instead when looking at the outcome, individuals sometimes appear to like or dislike the suggestion, and then decide according to this feeling. In this manuscript we argue that such a decision aid can function as a catalyst. As it points to one option over the other, individuals focus on obtaining this option and engage in a more vivid representation of the same. By imagining obtaining the option, feelings related to the option become stronger, which then drive feelings of satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the outcome of the decision aid. We provide support for this phenomenon throughout two studies. Study 1 indicates that using a catalyst leads to stronger feelings. Study 2 replicates this finding using a different catalyst, and rules out alternative explanations. Here, participants report that after having used a catalyst, they experienced a stronger feeling of suddenly knowing what they want compared to the control group that did not use a catalyst. Implications of these results for research and practice are discussed

The cold heart : Reminders of money cause feelings of physical coldness

Mere reminders of money have been shown to cause socially ‘‘cold’ ’ behavior. Recent research suggests that the metaphor of ‘‘social coldness’ ’ is bodily grounded and thus linked to actual sensations of physical coldness. We therefore hypothesized that reminding individuals of money causes them to feel physically colder. This hypothesis was put to test in two studies, drawing on predictions from psychophysiological thermal perception. In Study 1, individuals who had been reminded of money perceived the air in the room as colder compared to a control group (an assimilation effect). Contrarily, in Study 2, they perceived water (a medium that was only momentarily experienced) as warmer compared to individuals not reminded of money (a contrast effect). Together these findings demonstrate that reminders of money cause sensations of actual physical coldness and add to the literature of both the psychological effects of money and human thermal perception

The adaptive eater : Perceived healthiness moderates the effect of the color red on consumption

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