| The prevalence of inexpressive pop culture icons and models indicates that an inexpressive appearance is appealing and evaluated favorably. Despite this suggestion, experimental and correlational research indicates that an inexpressive appearance is evaluated unfavorably (Depaulo, Blank, Swaim, and Hartfield 1992; Friedman, Riggio, and Casell 1988; Weisbuch, Ivcevic, and Ambady 2009). The present research addresses this conflict by synthesizing divergent theories to create a modified theoretical framework for understanding the effect of inexpressiveness on social evaluations. According to the approach and inhibition theory of power, inexpressiveness relates to the undesirable quality of being socially constrained which would lead to unfavorable evaluations (Keltner, Gruenfeld, and Anderson 2003). Conversely, the literature on cool explains that cool relates to favorable evaluations and that cool people are inexpressive, socially unconstrained, and countercultural (Belk, Tian, and Pavola 2010; Pountain and Robins 2000). The results of my first two experiments support my theoretical framework which suggests that the effect of inexpressiveness on social evaluations is moderated by countercultural attitudes and the salience of social constraint. Specifically, high counterculture participants rated an inexpressive target as more attractive than an expressive target when the concept of low social constraint was made salient. The results of my third experiment highlight the difficulty in manipulating countercultural attitudes with a prime. My final experiment demonstrated that an understanding of my theoretical framework can lead to increased advertising effectiveness. The theoretical and substantive applications are discussed. |
