The Impact Of Smiling Expressions On Individual Intertemporal Decision Making:the Role Of Interpersonal Trust And Environmental Uncertainty

Intertemporal decision making is a trade-off between gains and losses at different time points.People’s weighing of options in intertemporal decision making relies not only on their own situation,but also based on multiple examinations of others(for whom the decision is made,characteristics of the decision object,etc.)and the environment(inflation,cultural climate,etc.).Most previous studies have focused on the influence of intertemporal decision making and decision makers’ own characteristics on decision outcomes,but few studies have examined the influence of others’ expressions and external environment on intertemporal decision making from an interpersonal perspective.The present study examined the effects of smiling expressions and environmental uncertainty on individual intertemporal decision making.The study consisted of two experiments.Experiment 1 explored the effect of smiling expressions on individuals’ intertemporal decision making through a behavioral experiment and examined the mediating role of interpersonal trust.A oneway,two-level(face expressions: smile expression/neutral expressions)betweensubjects experimental design was used to show that face expressions significantly influenced individuals’ intertemporal decision making,and that interpersonal trust partially mediated this effect.Specifically,subjects had significantly higher levels of interpersonal trust when faced with a smile expression compared to a neutral expression,and subsequently preferred the long term benefits in intertemporal decision making.Experiment 2 examined the moderating role of environmental uncertainty in the mechanism of the influence of smiling expressions on individuals’ intertemporal decision making.Using a two-factor between-subjects experimental design of 2(face expressions: smiling expressions/neutral expressions)× 2(environmental uncertainty:initiation/control),the results showed that the interaction between environmental uncertainty and face expressions mediated through interpersonal trust,which in turn influenced individual intertemporal decision making.In the control condition,the partial mediating effect of interpersonal trust was significant: the level of interpersonal trust was higher for smiling expressions,thus making subjects more likely to choose the option with larger and longer benefits;while in the environmental uncertainty condition,the mediating effect of interpersonal trust level was not significant.In summary,smiling expressions affect individual intertemporal decision making through interpersonal trust level,and this mechanism of action is moderated by environmental uncertainty.The present study verified the influence of others’ smiling expressions on individuals’ intertemporal decision making,demonstrating the important role of interpersonal trust and the moderating role of environmental uncertainty.The positive exploration from an interpersonal perspective,in turn,provides new evidence for adaptive human choices in different environments and has important theoretical implications.In addition,the results of this study suggest that it is of practical importance to effectively use facial expressions to influence individual interpersonal decision making and improve the quality of individual interpersonal decision making according to different contexts.