Mind at ease puts a smile on the face: Psychophysiological evidence that processing facilitation elicits positive affect

The affect system, in its position to monitor organismic-environmental tran sactions, may be sensitive to the internal dynamics of information processi ng. Hence, the authors predicted that facilitation of stimulus processing s hould elicit a brief, mild, positive affective response. In 2 studies, part icipants watched a series of neutral pictures while the processing ease was unobtrusively manipulated. Affective reactions were assessed with facial e lectromyography (EMG). In both studies, easy-to-process pictures elicited h igher activity over the region of zygomaticus major, indicating positive af fect. The EMG data were paralleled by self-reports of positive responses to the facilitated stimuli. The findings suggest a close link between process ing dynamics and affect and may help understand several preference phenomen a, including the mere-exposure effect. The findings also highlight a potent ial source of affective biases in social judgments.