Brian Knutson
Biographic Data
| ID | 1659371 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Brian Knutson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Brian |
| FAMILY NAME | Knutson |
| SIGNATURE | KNUTSON B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Stanford University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7669-426X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 84 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1996 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Cultural variation in the smiles we trust
When playing single-shot behavioral economic games like the Trust and Dictator Games, European Americans and East Asians invested in and gave more to targets whose smiles matched their culture's ideal affect (the affective states they value; Blevins et al., 2024; Park et al., 2017), suggesting that smiles signal something about targets' traits. But what happens when participants are given direct information about targets' traits; do targets' smil…
Leveraging neuroscience for climate change research
Social media users produce more affect that supports cultural values, but are more influenced by affect that violates cultural values
Although social media plays an increasingly important role in communication around the world, social media research has primarily focused on Western users. Thus, little is known about how cultural values shape social media behavior. To examine how cultural affective values might influence social media use, we developed a new sentiment analysis tool that allowed us to compare the affective content of Twitter posts in the United States (55,867 twee…
The rise of affectivism
Culturally valued facial expressions enhance loan request success
Why do people share resources with some strangers, but not others? This question becomes increasingly relevant as online platforms that promote lending world-wide proliferate (e.g., www.kiva.org). We predicted that lenders from nations that value excitement and other high-arousal positive states (HAP; e.g., United States) would loan more to borrowers who show excitement in their profile photos because the lenders perceive them to be more affiliat…
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Some people find it more difficult to delay rewards than others. In three experiments, we tested a “future self-continuity” hypothesis that individual differences in the perception of one’s present self as continuous with a future self would be associated with measures of saving in the laboratory and everyday life. Higher future self-continuity (assessed by a novel index) predicted reduced discounting of future rewards in a laboratory task, more …
Affect dynamics, affective forecasting, and aging
Affective forecasting, experienced affect, and recalled affect were compared in younger and older adults during a task in which participants worked to win and avoid losing small monetary sums. Dynamic changes in affect were measured along valence and arousal dimensions, with probes during both anticipatory and consummatory task phases. Older and younger adults displayed distinct patterns of affect dynamics. Younger adults reported increased negat…
Cultural variation in affect valuation
The authors propose that how people want to feel ("ideal affect") differs from how they actually feel ("actual affect") and that cultural factors influence ideal more than actual affect. In 2 studies, controlling for actual affect, the authors found that European American (EA) and Asian American (AA) individuals value high-arousal positive affect (e.g., excitement) more than do Hong Kong Chinese (CH). On the other hand, CH and AA individuals valu…
Ultrasonic vocalizations as indices of affective states in rats
Ultrasonic vocalizations as indices of affective states in rats
Adult rats spontaneously vocalize in ultrasonic frequencies. Although these ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) have been described as by-products of locomotor activity or social signals, accumulating evidence suggests that they may also index anticipatory affective states. Converging ethological, pharmacological, and brain stimulation research indicates that whereas long low-frequency (> 0.3-s, approximately 22-kHz) USVs occur during anticipation of…
Facial expressions of emotion influence interpersonal trait inferences
Effects of fluoxetine on play dominance in juvenile rats
In a series of three studies, we investigated the influence of a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (fluoxetine) on the rough-and-tumble play of juvenile rats. In Experiment 1, both members of eight pairs of solitary-housed juvenile rats received either vehicle, 2.5, 5, or 10 mg/kg fluoxetine in a counterbalanced within-subject design 20 min before being allowed to play for 5 min periods on four successive test days. The 5 and 10 mg/kg pretr…
Cultural variation in affect valuation
The authors propose that how people want to feel ("ideal affect") differs from how they actually feel ("actual affect") and that cultural factors influence ideal more than actual affect. In 2 studies, controlling for actual affect, the authors found that European American (EA) and Asian American (AA) individuals value high-arousal positive affect (e.g., excitement) more than do Hong Kong Chinese (CH). On the other hand, CH and AA individuals valu…
The rise of affectivism
Ultrasonic vocalizations as indices of affective states in rats
Adult rats spontaneously vocalize in ultrasonic frequencies. Although these ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) have been described as by-products of locomotor activity or social signals, accumulating evidence suggests that they may also index anticipatory affective states. Converging ethological, pharmacological, and brain stimulation research indicates that whereas long low-frequency (> 0.3-s, approximately 22-kHz) USVs occur during anticipation of…
Facial expressions of emotion influence interpersonal trait inferences
Effects of fluoxetine on play dominance in juvenile rats
In a series of three studies, we investigated the influence of a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor (fluoxetine) on the rough-and-tumble play of juvenile rats. In Experiment 1, both members of eight pairs of solitary-housed juvenile rats received either vehicle, 2.5, 5, or 10 mg/kg fluoxetine in a counterbalanced within-subject design 20 min before being allowed to play for 5 min periods on four successive test days. The 5 and 10 mg/kg pretr…
Ultrasonic vocalizations as indices of affective states in rats
Ultrasonic vocalizations as indices of affective states in rats
Adult rats spontaneously vocalize in ultrasonic frequencies. Although these ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) have been described as by-products of locomotor activity or social signals, accumulating evidence suggests that they may also index anticipatory affective states. Converging ethological, pharmacological, and brain stimulation research indicates that whereas long low-frequency (> 0.3-s, approximately 22-kHz) USVs occur during anticipation of…
Cultural variation in affect valuation
The authors propose that how people want to feel ("ideal affect") differs from how they actually feel ("actual affect") and that cultural factors influence ideal more than actual affect. In 2 studies, controlling for actual affect, the authors found that European American (EA) and Asian American (AA) individuals value high-arousal positive affect (e.g., excitement) more than do Hong Kong Chinese (CH). On the other hand, CH and AA individuals valu…
Affect dynamics, affective forecasting, and aging
Affective forecasting, experienced affect, and recalled affect were compared in younger and older adults during a task in which participants worked to win and avoid losing small monetary sums. Dynamic changes in affect were measured along valence and arousal dimensions, with probes during both anticipatory and consummatory task phases. Older and younger adults displayed distinct patterns of affect dynamics. Younger adults reported increased negat…
Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow
Some people find it more difficult to delay rewards than others. In three experiments, we tested a “future self-continuity” hypothesis that individual differences in the perception of one’s present self as continuous with a future self would be associated with measures of saving in the laboratory and everyday life. Higher future self-continuity (assessed by a novel index) predicted reduced discounting of future rewards in a laboratory task, more …
Culturally valued facial expressions enhance loan request success
Why do people share resources with some strangers, but not others? This question becomes increasingly relevant as online platforms that promote lending world-wide proliferate (e.g., www.kiva.org). We predicted that lenders from nations that value excitement and other high-arousal positive states (HAP; e.g., United States) would loan more to borrowers who show excitement in their profile photos because the lenders perceive them to be more affiliat…
Social media users produce more affect that supports cultural values, but are more influenced by affect that violates cultural values
Although social media plays an increasingly important role in communication around the world, social media research has primarily focused on Western users. Thus, little is known about how cultural values shape social media behavior. To examine how cultural affective values might influence social media use, we developed a new sentiment analysis tool that allowed us to compare the affective content of Twitter posts in the United States (55,867 twee…
The rise of affectivism
Leveraging neuroscience for climate change research
Cultural variation in the smiles we trust
When playing single-shot behavioral economic games like the Trust and Dictator Games, European Americans and East Asians invested in and gave more to targets whose smiles matched their culture's ideal affect (the affective states they value; Blevins et al., 2024; Park et al., 2017), suggesting that smiles signal something about targets' traits. But what happens when participants are given direct information about targets' traits; do targets' smil…
Psychology (12 works) · Social Psychology (8 works) · Cultural Differences and Values (5 works) · Developmental psychology (5 works) · Communication (4 works) · Medicine (4 works) · Affect (linguistics) (3 works) · Arousal (3 works) · Audiology (3 works) · Cognitive psychology (3 works)