The Association Between Power‐Space Congruency and Positive Affect

ABSTRACT Although it has been repeatedly demonstrated that the power‐space congruency can facilitate response speed and accuracy, its influence on people’s positive affect remains unexplored. Given the extensive application of power structures in daily life, the present study aimed to understand the relationship between power‐space congruency and positive affect. Experiment 1 ( N = 138) found that the participants had more positive affect toward the powerful words presented at their power‐space congruent positions than those at the incongruent positions during explicit evaluations. Experiment 2 ( N = 43) showed that the facial action units related to positive affect (AU6 and AU12) had greater activation intensity in the power‐space congruent condition than in the incongruent condition. The findings were discussed on its theoretical and practical significance.