Effects of emotional body language on rapid out-group judgments

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of emotional body language (EBL) on in‐ and out-group face processing. In Experiment 1, White participants viewed pictures of in‐group (White) and out-group (Black) faces positioned on bodies conveying either happy or angry emotions. Experiment 2 employed the same paradigm, presenting Asian faces as the out‐group condition. In both experiments the task was to identify the race of the face as quickly as possible. For both experiments, there was a significant interaction between race of face and EBL, such that out‐group faces were processed faster with angry vs. happy EBL. Furthermore, a trend was observed such that in-group faces were processed faster with happy vs. angry EBL. When considered together, the effect appears to be due to an out-group, not a stereotyping, phenomenon. The results of both experiments provide support for the hypothesis that emotional body language may influence quick, unconscious, and automatic processing of faces of different races.