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Contents
- Abstract
- Head Versus Heart Metaphors
- A Novel Individual Difference Measure and Hypotheses
- Study 1
- Method
- Participants and general procedures
- The self-location measure
- Outcome measures
- Results
- Discussion
- Study 2
- Method
- Participants, procedures, and the self-location measure
- Outcome measures
- Controlling for openness to experience
- Results
- Primary results
- Controlling for openness to experience
- Discussion
- Study 3
- Method
- Participants, procedures, and the self-location measure
- Outcome measures
- Controlling for trait neuroticism
- Results
- Primary analyses
- Controlling for neuroticism
- Discussion
- Study 4
- Method
- Participants, procedures, and the self-location measure
- Outcome measures
- Results
- Discussion
- Study 5
- Method
- Participants, procedures, and the self-location measure
- Outcome measure
- Controlling for conscientiousness
- Results
- Discussion
- Study 6
- Method
- Participants, laboratory assessments, and procedures
- Daily diary survey and analysis strategy
- Results
- Laboratory results
- Daily diary results
- Discussion
- Study 7
- Method
- Participants and general procedures
- Manipulation
- Dependent measures
- Results
- Discussion
- Study 8
- Method
- Time 1 assessment
- Time 2 assessment
- Results
- Consistency in self-locations across time
- Outcome prediction
- Discussion
- General Discussion
- Head Versus Heart Metaphors
- Toward a Metaphor-Enriched Personality Psychology
- Additional Future Research Directions and Conclusions
Figures and Tables
Abstract
The head is thought to be rational and cold, whereas the heart is thought to be emotional and warm. In 8 studies (total N = 725), we pursued the idea that such body metaphors are widely consequential. Study 1 introduced a novel individual difference variable, one asking people to locate the self in the head or the heart. Irrespective of sex differences, head-locators characterized themselves as rational, logical, and interpersonally cold, whereas heart-locators characterized themselves as emotional, feminine, and interpersonally warm (Studies 1–3). Study 4 showed that head-locators were more accurate in answering general knowledge questions and had higher grade point averages, and Study 5 showed that heart-locators were more likely to favor emotional over rational considerations in moral decision making. Study 6 linked self-locations to reactivity phenomena in daily life—for example, heart-locators experienced greater negative emotion on high stressor days. In Study 7, we manipulated attention to the head versus the heart and found that head-pointing facilitated intellectual performance, whereas heart-pointing led to emotional decision making. Study 8 replicated Study 3’s findings with a nearly year-long delay between the self-location...