Affect and self-focused attention revisited:: the role of affect orientation

Abstract

Research examining the influence of affect on self-focused atten
tion has concentrated exclusively onthe valence dimension (i.e.,
negative-positive) of affect. The authors propose that the dimen
sion of affect orientation (i.e., reflective-social) illuminates con
siderablythis relation.A reflective orientationreferstoatendency
for inaction, whereas a social orientation refers to a tendency for
action. Two experiments tested the hypothesis that two opposite
valenced but reflective affective states (i.e., sadness and content
ment) heighten self-focused attention, whereas two opposite-valenced
but social affective states (i.e., thrill and anger) reduce self-fo
cused attention. Affect was induced via an imagination task
(Experiment 1) or an imagination task combined with musical
selections (Experiment 2). Self-focused attention was assessed
throughthestate version of the Private Self-Consciousness (PSC)
scale (Experiment 1) or the state version of the PSC plus a
behavioral intention measure (Experiment 2). The results con
firmed the hypothesis.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Constantine Sedikides: orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-889X

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