AN APPROACH TO THE AUTOMATICITY OF EVALUATIVE JUDGMENTS: THE IMPLICATIONS OF AFFECTIVE MISATTRIBUTION IN SOCIAL COGNITION

Abstract

The automatic nature of evaluative judgments and, in particular, the role of implicit processes in this type of response is a central theme in cognitive psychology. The purpose of the present review is to explore the implications of the automaticity concept in social cognition, with a special emphasis on two well-documented phenomena: affective misattribution and embodiment. With this aim, we review the most relevant findings in this area, and we propose potential lines of application outside the laboratory. We conclude that affective misattribution is operative in several domains of social cognition, which suggests that our daily life can benefit substantially from a better understanding of how our implicit mind works.

Keywords

• Automaticity
• Evaluative judgments
• “Misattribution”
• Social cognition
• Embodiment