Emotion affords social influence: Responding to others’ emotions in context

The findings in this dissertation illustrate how knowledge about the causes of emotions (Chapters 2 and 3) and aspects of social situations (Chapters 3, 4, and 5) both shape the inferences that perceivers draw based on others' emotional expressions, and determine behavioral responses to those expressions. Investing in an understanding of both of these components can thus greatly help us to understand the effects that any expression of emotion may have on perceivers’ cognition and behavior in a given situation. Understanding emotion-based social influence as a combination of knowledge about emotions and knowledge about contextual factors helps us understand the role that expressions of emotion play in social life. Doing so offers points of departure for understanding how such expressions result in influence within a range of social situations.