Do We Trust the Unexpected? Social Perception Representations are Shaped by the Strength of Predictions.

Perceivers' beliefs are critical to form social judgments. However, it remains unclear how the strength of these beliefs or predictions shapes social perception. To fill this gap, we investigated how the representation of social perceptions (trustworthiness and likeability ratings) and bodily responses (skin conductance response; SCR) are modulated by prediction strength, using representational similarity analysis. In two samples of university students (N1=65 and N2=40), stronger predictions led participants to judge identities as more trustworthy and likeable when identities’ facial reactions conformed to their predictions compared to when they were violated. Furthermore, the representational structure of social judgments and SCR were associated with models of prediction fulfillment/violation. More importantly, the similarity between social judgments, SCR representations, and models of prediction fulfillment/violation were linked to predictions strength. These results demonstrate that predictions strength modulates how fulfilled/violated predictions influence social judgments and bodily responses, providing new insights into the mechanisms underlying social perception.