The perception of (the affective valence of) facial expression can automatically recruit attentional resources in the observer and may prioritize stimulus processing. Using concurrent presentation of static facial expressions and words of positive and negative value in an evaluative task, affective priming effects were observed due to the automatic processing of the distracter face (Pecchinenda et al., submitted). The present study investigated the mechanism underlying these effects and tested the hypothesis that they result from the automatic recruitment of the Theory of Mind (ToM) capacity (i.e., the attribution of mental states to others). Hereto, we concurrently presented dynamic displays of positive facial expression
