Graduation Date
Fall 2020
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Arts degree with a major in Psychology, option Academic Research
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Amanda Hahn
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. Amber Gaffney
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Dr. Brandilynn Villarreal
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Subject Categories
Psychology
Abstract
The ability to recognize emotional expressions has important implications for survival and cooperation. Failing to recognize emotions indicative of some form of threat (anger, fear, disgust) may be particularly costly given these emotional expressions communicate a potential source of danger in the environment. Previous studies have shown that people tend to recognize threatening emotions faster and more accurately than non-threatening emotions. Infantile characteristics (kindchenschema) readily capture the attention of adults and have been shown to influence a variety of behaviors associated with caretaking; viewing cute stimuli increases behavioral carefulness on various visual and motor tasks. The current study sought to determine if viewing cute stimuli increases sensitivity to emotional expressions, particularly those related to threat, as the ability to recognize emotional displays has important implications for caretaking. In a sample of 43 women, viewing cute stimuli enhanced sensitivity to emotional expressions generally, but was not specific to threat-relevant emotions. This effect of priming was not apparent in a sample including men (n=6) and non-binary (n=3) participants. These results suggest that priming a caretaking mentality may enhance emotional sensitivity in addition to behavioral carefulness, at least in women.
Citation Style
APA
Recommended Citation
Diaz, Andrew, "Cuteness as a prime to enhance emotional recognition" (2020). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 450.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/450