Affective Incoherence Reduces Reliance on Activated Stereotypes

The present research asked if experiences of affective coherence and incoherence regulate tendencies to respond based on activated stereotypes. Affective coherence occurs when affective feelings and activated affective concepts are in harmony, and affective incoherence occurs when such feelings and concepts are in conflict. This experiment shows that when the valence of accessible thoughts and participants' mood were affectively coherent, this promoted tendencies to respond based on activated stereotypes. When the valence of accessible thoughts and participants' mood were affectively incoherent, this inhibited tendencies to respond based on activated stereotypes. Further, results indicated that the influence of affective coherence and incoherence on stereotyping was driven by variation in feelings of positive affect. These results extend past research on affective coherence and incoherence by showing that such experiences not only influence the acquisition and organization of knowledge, but also the reliance on activated knowledge.