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The way you make me feel: Integral affective influences on interpersonal behavior

2002; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 13; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

1532-7965

David A. Perrott, Galen V. Bodenhausen,

Social Power and Status Dynamics

Forgas (this issue) reviews an impressive range of empirical evidence showing that incidental mood states can impinge upon interpersonal behavior in a variety of noteworthy ways, and his affect infusion model (AIM) provides a systematic account of the contingencies in this body of evidence. As such, his review takes us a long way toward the laudable goal he sets forth of providing an understanding of how affect influences strategic interpersonal behavior. We contend that a truly comprehensive understanding of this important topic, however, requires that theorists and researchers look beyond the effects of mood states and begin to examine the affective dynamics that are integral to particular interpersonal settings. In attempting to characterize the affective context of intergroup relations, Bodenhausen, Mussweiler, Gabriel, and Moreno (2001) proposed a tripartite typology of intergroup affect that applies equally well to the interpersonal sphere of social functioning. According to this typology, the affective states that have been investigated by Forgas in his extensive research program (i.e., moods and emotions that have arisen for reasons unrelated to the current behavioral situation) fall into the category of incidental affect. However, this kind of affect is by no means the only, or the most important, kind of interpersonal affect. It can be contrasted with integral affect, which comes in two forms. Chronic integral affect refers to enduring affective reactions to a social target that are activated in a particular interaction. Episodic integral affect refers to affective reactions that are situationally created in a particular dyadic interaction. Our claim is that an overly exclusive focus on incidental affect-and a corresponding neglect of the integral varieties of interpersonal affect-is likely to leave us with only a partial understanding of how affect impinges upon strategic interpersonal behavior. In what circumstances may chronic integral affect arise? Most obviously, it could arise in the context of interpersonal interactions involving individuals who are previously acquainted with one another. In many important contexts (such as spousal relationships or work-related relations), people engage in strategic interactions with other persons toward whom they have potentially quite strong, enduring affective reactions. However, an enduring relationship is certainly not a necessary condition for the elicitation of chronic integral affect. Such reactions could arise, for example, when a novel interaction partner can be categorized into a social group about which the individual has chronic feelings (e.g., feeling anxious when meeting one's new dentist, feeling happy to meet a fellow countryman when traveling abroad). How do these kinds of feeling states direct or constrain the course of strategic behavior that is pursued in the context of an interaction with persons who arouse these feelings? Can the principles embodied within the AIM be adapted to make predictions about these integral affective influences, or will additional theoretical assumptions be necessary? For the most part, research on integral interpersonal affect has tended to treat this phenomenon as the outcome to be studied and explained, rather than focusing on its potential role in influencing social cognition and thereby mediating subsequent interpersonal conduct. The literature on the affective state of love typifies this state of affairs. Although much research has examined the quality of feeling love for another individual, focusing on its determinants and the diversity of its character (see, e.g., Hendrick & Hendrick, 1992), the effects of feelings of love on processes of social cognition have not yet been extensively studied. Some researchers have attempted to map out the cognitive and behavioral consequences of hostile marital affect (e.g., Gottman, 1993), jealousy (e.g., White, 1981), and limerence, or obsessive love (Tennov, 1979); however, these efforts have often not involved the careful tracing of the impact of these affective states on interactants' information-processing strategies, attentional capacity, epistemic motivation, memorial biases, or other key potential social-cognitive mediators of the observed links between feeling and behaving. In principle, however, a theoretical analysis focusing on these kinds of potential mediating processes could open the door to greater theoretical integration, and the growing interest in processes of relationship cognition signals that this kind of theoretical development is on the horizon. The more general point we are making is that, in focusing on interactions involving strangers or superficially known others, we fail to learn about some of the more affectively potent contexts of strategic social behavior, namely our interactions with family members, friends, and coworkers. It is arguably much more important to successfully negotiate and engage in social influence within these kinds of relationships. A model of affective influences on interper-