Sensorimotor fluency influences affect: Evidence from electromyography

Fluency of visual processing induces affective responses, with easier-to-process stimuli being preferred (Winkielman Cacioppo, 2001). The present study extends this research to the motor domain by investigating the effect of sensorimotor fluency on affective reactions to objects in a categorisation task. In fluent stimulus-response (s-r) trials, grasp-compatible objects were presented on the same side of the screen as the response hand; in non-fluent trials, grasp incompatible objects were presented on the opposite side of the screen to the response hand. Affective responses were measured implicitly using face muscle activity (electromyography). As predicted, participants exhibited greater cheek muscle activity (associated with smiling) in trials with s-r compatible responses compared with incompatible responses. These findings support hedonic models of fluency in which fluent processing elicits direct emotional experience, and suggest that models of hedonic fluency should take into account the integration of the motor system in visual processing.