The effects of exposure to attractive and unattractive infant faces on self-reported and psychophysiological affect

The primary aim of this study was to determine the trajectory of self-reported liking ratings and psychophysiological affective responses to attractive and unattractive infant stimuli over multiple exposures to determine whether these trajectories would conform to the predictions of mere exposure theory or negativity bias. Participants viewed a block of attractive and unattractive infant photographs, repeated 25 times, while their liking ratings and corrugator supercilli, levator labii superioris, and zygomaticus major muscle responses were recorded. Overall, self-reported liking ratings decreased as a function of exposure to the unattractive infant faces, indicating that repeated exposure intensifies the initial negative evaluation of those faces, rather than increasing liking for all stimuli.