Where is the self? Relations between head-heart dualism and social judgment

The contrast between intellectual and emotional processes may be served by head-heart dualism, which is a folk model linking the head to intellectual processes and the heart to emotional processes. By linking two different processing styles to two different bodily regions, the self can be multi-faceted and, potentially, flexible in responding to the situation at hand. The present 3 experimental studies (total N = 563) pursue the potential consequences of head-heart dualism. In Study 1, drawing attention to the head (versus heart) led participants to think of ambiguous activities as more intellectual (emotional). In Studies 2 and 3, simulating oneself performing an intellectual or emotional activity shifted perceptions of where the self is located upward, toward the head, or downward, toward the heart. The findings highlight the manner in which head-heart dualism can give rise to rapid shifts in self-perception and social cognition that reinforce the intellectual-emotional distinction.