Effects of emotional expressions on persuasion

This paper investigates how expressions of emotion affect persuasiveness when the expresser and the recipient have different levels of power. The first study demonstrates that when the recipient overpowers the expresser, emotional expressions reduce persuasion. A second study reveals that power and perceived appropriateness of emotional expressions independently moderate the effect of emotional expressions. Emotional expressions hamper persuasion when the recipient overpowers the expresser, or when the emotional expressions are considered inappropriate.