The Emotional Origins of a Social Learning Bias

Abstract

Humans learn, in large part, by copying knowledgeable others. However, because others can be deceitful or lack competence, indiscriminate copying would be maladaptive. How then do individuals determine which social group members have knowledge that should be copied? We argue that the pride nonverbal expression may signal expertise, and thus bias learning such that proud others are more likely to be copied. In two studies, financially motivated participants answered a difficult trivia question after viewing a photograph (Study 1A) or a video (Study 2) of an emotion-displaying confederate answering the same question. Pride-displaying confederates were copied significantly more frequently than those displaying other expressions, suggesting that pride expressions bias social learning. Study 1B demonstrated that this effect was restricted to participants who were financially motivated to acquire knowledge. These findings indicate that pride displays are functional for observers and may play a critical role in social learning.