We study theory of mind (ToM) and empathic underpinnings of Machiavellianism by use of functional magnetic resonance imaging, where account managers are used as participants in 3 studies. Study 1 finds evidence for activation of the medial prefrontal cortex, left and right temporo-parietal junction, and left and right precuneus regions; all five regions are negatively correlated with Machiavellianism, suggesting that Machiavellians are less facile than non-Machiavellians with ToM skills. Study 2 presents evidence for activation of the left and right pars opercularis, left and right insula, and left precuneus regions; the former four regions of the motor neuron system were positively associated, and the latter negatively associated, with Machiavellianism, implying that Machiavellians resonate more readily with the emotions of others than non-Machiavellians. This is the first study to our knowledge to show a negative correlation between perspective taking and emotional sharing in empathic processes in general and Machiavellianism in particular. Study 3 tests implications of managerial control on both performance and organizational citizenship behaviors, as moderated by Machiavellianism in the field. Our study grounds the functioning of Machiavellianism in organizations in basic neuroscience processes, resolves some long-standing ambiguities with self-report investigations, and points to conditions under which Machiavellianism both inhibits and promotes performance and citizenship behavior.

The last decade was marked by a number of corporate scandals (e.g., Enron, Halliburton, Madoff Investment Securities LLC, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.) that contributed to a financial crisis in the U.S. and negatively affected the global economy. The seeming lack of business ethics and uncontrolled striving for personal profits of employees working in the firms involved are believed to be important reasons for these scandals (e.g., Podolny, 2009). As a consequence, research on the ethical dimension of organizational behavior has experienced increased attention in the past decade (see Treviño, Weaver, & Reynolds, 2006), and researchers have begun to investigate “darker” aspects of organizational behavior (e.g., Machiavellianism: Dahling, Whitaker, & Levy, 2009; narcissism: Rosenthal & Pittinsky, 2006; and psychopathy: Paulhus & Williams, 2002; see Griffin & O’Leary-Kelly, 2004).

One trait that is argued to be part of the “dark triad of personality” (Paulhus & Williams, 2002) is one’s degree of Machiavellianism. Machiavellianism is defined as “social conduct that involves manipulating others for personal gain, often against the other’s self-interest” (Wilson, Near, & Miller, 1996, p. 285). More recently Dahling, Whitaker, and Levy (2009) published a review showing that Machiavellianism is related to a number of organizational behavior and management topics such as leadership, counterproductive work behavior, use of influence tactics that politicize organizations, job dissatisfaction, and (lack of) organization citizenship behaviors. For instance, Machiavellians were found to be unsupportive and inconsiderate as leaders (Drory & Gluskinos, 1980), show little regard for partners and focus only on maximizing their own profits (Sakalaki, Richardson, & Thépaut, 2007), are more likely to steal and violate trust (Fehr, Samson, & Paulhus, 1992), and show less helping behavior (Becker & O’Hair, 2007). These findings suggest that Machiavellianism is a construct of relevance for management scholars and practitioners alike, and organizations should be wary about hiring Machiavellian employees.

Yet a closer look at the literature reveals that judgments about Machiavellianism are not always consistent; some researchers indicate that Machiavellians might also offer advantages (e.g., reveal an ability to build coalitions within firms, or even be prosocial if needed; Hawley, 2003) for people in the organization and for the organization as a whole (Wilson et al., 1996). In this regard, researchers offer different explanations and interpretations of Machiavellianism ranging from possession of a set of effective social skills to dysfunctional personality traits (see Dahling et al., 2009; Wilson et al., 1996, for overviews). A better understanding of Machiavellianism and its underlying mechanisms might help to reconcile the conflicting views in the literature and actually better predict under which circumstances Machiavellianism might be linked to desirable organizational behavior, and when it might lead to undesirable outcomes.

A number of scholars have suggested that a deep understanding of the human brain can benefit the science and practice of management (e.g., Becker, Cropanzano, & Sanfey, 2011; Butler & Senior, 2007; Senior, Lee, & Butler, 2011). Becker et al. (2011: 934) take an organizational neuroscience (ON) point of view “to understand and incorporate the cognitive machinery behind our thoughts and actions into organizational theory.” As Lee, Senior, and Butler (2012: 923) point out, the ON approach is a “neuroanatomical perspective . . . concerned with the role that brain anatomy plays in the mediation of organizational decisions.” Lee et al. (2012: 924) propose a comprehensive orientation in what they term, an organizational cognitive neuroscience (OCN) approach:

In the OCN approach, the management scholar is interested in understanding how the biological systems as a whole (rather than solely the activation of specific brain regions) operate to mediate social processes . . . OCN is conceptualized as a perspective that incorporates multiple levels of analysis . . . [and] is interested not only in the structures and systems within the brain that are of relevance to organizational behavior but also in the interaction between those biological systems and cognition itself.

An underlying theme for both OCN- and ON-based perspectives for understanding organization behavior is that experiences and behaviors of individuals and groups in organizations (which are higher order concepts) are not only dependent on such underlying psychological concepts as personality or information processing but in the end fundamentally rest on lower level brain systems that bring about psychological and social responses (Senior et al., 2011: 805; see also Cacioppo & Bernston, 1992). As Senior et al. (2011) note, the benefits of using a neuroscience approach do not depend solely on the use of sophisticated technologies such as brain scanners. Rather, the multidisciplinary theoretical foundations of OCN and ON provide researchers with the ability to explore heretofore unexamined organizational phenomena and also help researchers to decide amongst competing explanations for the same phenomena in a robust manner (Senior et al., 2011, p. 806). In this article, we explore incongruous perspectives and research on Machiavellianism, using an OCN approach, and in so doing we believe that insights drawn herein can help researchers and managers better grasp Machiavellianism and how it functions in organizations.

Consistent with the OCN and ON approaches, we focus on two psychological dimensions frequently used in organization theory and psychology that are thought to undergird Machiavellianism in organizations. The first is related to social intelligence (e.g., Wilson et al., 1996: 286) and the second to emotional intelligence (e.g., Barlow, Qualter, & Stylianou, 2010). With respect to social intelligence, we focus on theory of mind (ToM) or mentalizing (i.e., “the ability to read the desires, intentions, and beliefs of other people”; Frith & Frith, 2008: 504); with regard to emotional intelligence, we scrutinize empathy (i.e., “an affective state, caused by sharing the emotions or sensory states of another person”; Hein & Singer, 2008: 154). After reviewing recent research in psychology on these two phenomena, as they apply to Machiavellianism, we point out the need to take an OCN perspective and then develop our conceptual framework and hypotheses for a ToM and empathic understanding of Machiavellianism. Next we present our empirical studies. Studies 1 and 2 are neuroscience investigations, respectively, of ToM and empathic processes underlying Machiavellianism and performed on actual employees. Study 3 is a field investigation demonstrating implications of managerial control for performance and organizational citizenship behaviors, as regulated by Machiavellianism of real account managers.

Method Study 1: ToM Subjects Respondents in Study 1 were 43 customer boundary spanners from a variety of firms working in the professional services, information technology, banking, manufacturing, and other industries. They all were contacted while attending a management training institute associated with a university. A total of 37 men and 6 women participated (mean age = 36.0 years, SD = 8.23). All were right-handed and provided written consent, and the study was approved by the institutional review board at the university medical center where the research was conducted. Stimuli and procedures The stimuli and procedures were as follows and are similar in structure to that used by Nieminen-von Wendt et al. (2003). The study consisted of three conditions: ToM (mentalizing) stories, process stories with little or no ToM content (control), and unlinked sentences with no ToM content (control). Each respondent heard 5 stories in each of the three conditions for a total of 15 stories (see the appendix for the actual stories employed). Each story took between 33 and 36 seconds to hear and was followed by a question asking about the content of the story. Subjects were given 6 seconds to silently formulate an answer to each question. During the experiment, a new story was presented every 42 seconds, where in the final 3 seconds, subjects heard a beeping sound signaling an interstimulus interval. In earlier administrations of the study, where subjects were asked to read the stimuli, we discovered that there was too much head movement for purposes of analysis, and thus we turned to oral presentations of stimuli. The 5 ToM stories contained professional interactions between a protagonist customer boundary spanner and a customer in which the cognitive task involved the use of mentalizing to understand why and how the characters in the story interact. The 5 process stories served as closely matching control conditions, where the cognitive task was similar to the ToM stories but did not rely on analysis of mentalizing content. The 5 unlinked sentences “stories” consisted of control conditions of unrelated sentences that required the use of language and memory skills but did not entail coherent narratives, as in the other conditions, and hence were devoid of mentalizing content. A separate group of 25 respondents who were informed about the purpose of the study were asked to evaluate the 15 scenarios. After being given definitions of the stimuli, the respondents identified each of the 15 scenarios as being interpersonal-mentalizing, process, or unlinked sentence scenarios. They were also asked to describe the scenarios and were recorded as having given a correct response if their descriptions were sensible and could be interpreted. Finally they rated on 10-point scales their own confidence in the classification and how clear they believed the scenarios were. The three respective scenarios were correctly classified with 96.8%, 99.2%, and 99.2% accuracy. Answers to the stories were correct for 92.0%, 95.6%, and 100% of interpretations, respectively. The respective average confidence ratings were 8.26 (SD = 0.94), 8.22 (SD = 1.16), and 9.54 (SD = 0.72). The average clarity ratings were 8.16 (SD = 1.12) for the interpersonal-mentalizing and 7.86 (SD = 1.15) for the process scenarios. Clarity ratings for unlinked sentences were not meaningful, given their nature. Study 2: Empathy Subjects Respondents in Study 2 were 24 customer boundary spanners from the same range of firms as noted in Study 1 and were recruited while attending a university management institute training program. A total of 16 men and 8 women participated (mean age = 34.4, SD = 6.13). All were right-handed and provided written consent, and the study was approved by the institutional review board. Eighteen participants were common to both Studies 1 and 2. Stimulus and procedures The experimental stimuli consisted of full-face, full-color video clips of five males and five females displaying various emotional states (anger, disgust, happiness, and surprise). The control stimuli were video clips of neutral faces and moving geometric shapes. Thus, the four experimental conditions were (1) positive emotional facial expressions: happy and surprised; (2) negative emotional facial expressions: angry and disgust; (3) neutral faces; and (4) moving geometric shapes. Each clip was played for 3 seconds in 12-second blocks of three clips plus interstimulus intervals of 1 second. Each block consisted of either only positive, negative, or neutral emotions or moving geometrical shapes (see Figure 1). Counterbalanced versions of the stimuli were employed. This design is similar in structure to that employed frequently in the neuroscience literature (e.g., Wicker et al., 2003). Download Open in new tab Download in PowerPoint The experiment was performed in near darkness with all lights turned off except for the video projector. Visual stimuli were shown by means of back projection with a video projector onto a translucent screen in front of the scanner. Participants viewed this screen with a mirror system on top of the head coil. The total field of view extended 21 degrees horizontally and 17 degrees vertically. Stimuli were presented by the stimulation software package Presentation (Neurobehavioral Systems). Observing and executing facial expressions evokes activity in a neural network extending from the inferior frontal gyrus (pars opercularis), temporal parietal junction, superior temporal sulcus, insula, and amygdala (Dapretto et al., 2006; Van der Gaag et al., 2007). These findings show that the same neural structures that are active during execution of facial expressions are also active when the same facial expressions are detected in others. Functional image acquisition and analysis for Studies 1 and 2 All imaging was performed on a 3T MRI scanner (General Electric, Milwaukee, USA) using a dedicated eight-channel head coil. For the anatomical image, a 3D high-resolution inversion recovery fast spoiled gradient recalled echo sequence (echo time (TE)/repetition time (TR)/inversion time = 2.1/10.4/300 ms, flip angle = 18°, matrix = 416 × 256, field of view (FOV) = 25 cm, slice thickness 1.6 mm with 50% overlap) was required. A foundational source for functional image acquisition can be found in Senior, Russell, and Gazzaniga (2009). For functional imaging, a single-shot gradient-echo echo-planar imaging (EPI) sequence in transverse orientation was used in each study that is sensitive to blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) contrast. The imaging volume covered the entire brain (TR/TE 3000/30 ms. 64 × 96 matrix with a rectangular field of view of 22 cm, 2.5 mm slice thickness, 39 contiguous slices; voxel size of 3.5 × 3.0 × 2.5 mm3). For Study 1, acquisition time was 10:45 minutes with a time series of 210 imaging volumes; for Study 2, acquisition time was 9:51 minutes with a time series of 192 images volumes (both functional runs included 15 seconds of dummy scans that were discarded). The functional imaging data were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping software (SPM 5, distributed by the Wellcome Department of Cognitive Neurology, University College London, UK) implemented in MATLAB (Version 6.5, Mathworks, Sherborn, MA, USA). Motion correction and coregistration were done according to the methodology provided by SPM5. Brain volumes were normalized to the standard space defined by the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) template. The normalized data had a resolution of 2 × 2 × 2 mm and were spatially smoothed with a three-dimensional isotropic Gaussian kernel, with a full width half maximum of 8 mm. Statistical parametric maps were calculated for each subject. Movement parameters resulting from the realignment preprocessing were included as regressors of no interest to further reduce motion artifacts. The model was estimated with a high pass filter with a cutoff period of 128 seconds. For each participant, contrasts between the experimental conditions versus the control conditions were calculated between each condition, the individual contrast maps were used for a second level random effects analysis in the regression analyses. Other contrasts such as process stories versus unlinked sentences, neutral faces versus moving geometric shapes, or positive emotional expressions versus negative emotional expressions do not isolate neural activations associated with mentalizing or empathy in mirror neuron areas per se, and are therefore excluded from the present investigation. In order to investigate Hypothesis 1, we performed a second level random effect analysis, so that the ToM stories evoke activity in regions implicated in mentalizing. Two contrast maps are used for the second level analysis: ToM stories versus process stories and ToM stories versus unlinked sentences. For the correlational analysis (Hypothesis 2), we extracted the mean percentage signal change during the listening to ToM stories, compared with the process stories and unlinked sentences, and then we examined their correlations with participants’ Mach scale scores. We used the 20-item Mach IV scale for measuring Machiavellianism (Christie & Geis, 1970). The Cronbach alpha reliability was .72. In order to investigate Hypothesis 3, we first performed a second level random effect analysis, to show that the positive and negative emotional expressions activate regions implicated in the MN system. Four contrast maps are used for the second level analysis: positive emotional expressions versus neutral faces and moving geometric shapes, and negative emotional expressions versus neutral faces and geometric shapes. For correlational analysis (Hypothesis 4), we extracted the mean percentage signal change during the viewing of emotional expressions, compared with the control conditions, and then we examined their correlations with participants’ Mach scale score. We used the 20-item Mach IV scale for measuring Machiavellianism (Christie & Geis, 1970). The Cronbach reliability was .73. Because the predictions were limited to specific anatomical regions based on the literature, we adopted a region-of-interest (ROI) approach (Poldrack, 2007) in order to test the significance of the activation. Such an approach tests the contrasts only in those specific regions rather than across the entire brain, and by reducing the degree of correction needed for multiple comparisons, allows greater sensitivity in detecting effects. Thus, small-volume corrections (SVC; Worsley et al., 1996) were applied to the a priori regions of interest. Specifically, activations of the following key regions of the brain were measured: ToM activations in the MPFC, TPJ, and precuneus for Study 1; and MN activations in the precentral gyrus, pars opercularis, and TPJ in conjunction with the insula and the amygdala (which are activated when emotions are involved) for Study 2. At these locations, significance of the interactions was tested by constraining the analysis to the ROI derived from the WFU-Pick Atlas software package. Unless otherwise specified, all results were threshold p = .005 (uncorrected).

Results Study 1: ToM We hypothesized (H1) that the TPJ, MPFC, and precuneus regions will be activated more highly for the ToM mentalizing task condition than for either the process control or unlinked sentences control conditions. As predicted and shown in Table 1, where the findings for the whole-brain analysis are presented, greater activation for the contrast of ToM versus unlinked sentences was found for the right TPJ (x = 48, y = −68, z = 30, Z=3.31), right MPFC (8 64 20, Z = 2.76), left TPJ (−52 −72 30, Z = 2.13), and precuneus (8 −48 24, Z = 2.10). These regions were also identified in ROI analyses. For the contrast of ToM and process conditions, the findings demonstrate that greater activation ensued for the right MPF (10 64 18; Z = 2.62) and the left precuneus (−6 −50 20; Z = 2.46). Notice in Table 1 that the whole-brain analyses also show that the left and right insula differ between the ToM and unlinked sentences conditions (−40 −22 −2, Z = 2.60; 42 −20 −6, Z = 3.31). The insula is implicated in emotional reactions, but we did not hypothesize changes here (see next paragraph with respect to correlational findings concerning the insula). Figure 2a shows the spatial locations of the relevant activations for ToM. Table 1 Theory of Mind Activations With Whole Brain Analysis, Plus Correlations With Machiavellianism View larger version Download Open in new tab Download in PowerPoint Hypothesis H2 predicted that the greater the Machiavellianism, the higher the activation of the TPJ, MPFC, and precuneus regions of the brain. As hypothesized and shown in the final column of Table 1, Machiavellianism and activation of the right TPJ, right MPFC, left TPJ, and precuneus regions reveal correlations of −.49 (p < .01), −.41 (p < .01), −.33 (p < .05), and −.32 (p < .05), respectively, for the contrast of ToM and unlinked sentences; and similar correlations were found for the right MPFC (r = −.40, p < .01) and left precuneus (r = −.37. p < .05), for the contrast of ToM and process conditions. Machiavellianism was not significantly related to the left or right insula activations (r = −.23, n.s.; r = −.12, n.s., respectively). Study 2: Empathy We proposed (H3) that the insula, pars opercularis, and precuneus regions will be activated more highly for the emotion tasks than for the neutral faces and moving geometric shapes conditions. As hypothesized and presented in Table 2, where again whole-brain results are presented, greater activation for the contrast of negative faces versus moving geometrical shapes was found for the right insula (50 18 -12; Z = 3.36), left insula (-38 16 -40; Z = 2.88), left precuneus (−2 −48 40; Z = 2.58), right pars opercularis (42 20 4; Z = 2.53), and left pars opercularis (-48 18 4; Z = 2.52). For the contrast of positive faces and moving geometric shapes, the results show that greater activation occurred for the left insula (−44 14 −2; Z = 3.34) and the right insula (50 18 −10; Z = 3.08). The above mentioned regions were also identified in ROI analyses. The whole-brain analyses also show that the right and left amygdala differ between the negative faces and moving geometric shapes conditions (-24 0 -22; Z = 2.70; 26 0 -22; Z = 2.67, respectively). The amygdala is implicated in observing and executing facial expressions (Dapretto et al., 2006), as well as playing a possible role in empathy (Decety & Lamm, 2006: 1152), but we did not hypothesize this in our study because it may be limited to, or more common with, the response to perceiving others feeling pain, which we did not manipulate (see also below the lack of correlation of activation of the amygdala with Machiavellianism). Figure 2b presents the spatial locations of the pertinent activations for empathy. Table 2 Mirror Neuron Activations With Whole Brain Analysis Plus Correlations With Machiavellianism View larger version Hypothesis H4 predicted that the greater the Machiavellianism, the higher the activation of the insula and pars opercularis regions of the brain, and the lower the activation of the precuneus region. As proposed and shown in the final column of Table 2, Machiavellianism and activation of the right insula, left insula, left precuneus, right pars opercularis, and left pars opercularis regions yielded correlations of .64 (p < .01), .56 (p < .01), −.52 (p < .01), .48 (p < .05), and .51 (p < .01), for the contrasts of negative faces and moving geometric shapes; and similar correlations were found for the left and right insula (r = .40, p < .01; r = .36, p < .01), for the contrasts of positive faces and moving geometric shapes. Machiavellianism was not significantly related to activity in the right or left amygdala (r = .14, n.s.; r = .18, n.s., respectively). No significant findings occurred for the contrasts of positive or negative faces with neutral faces.

Appendix Auditorily Presented Scenarios in Three Task Conditions All original versions of the following scenarios were presented in Dutch. In this appendix, they have been translated from the original language version into English, and therefore do not always reflect the same time length as the original language version. Interpersonal Mentalizing Task Scenario 1 Sjaak is a salesperson who has just explained to Renée his own perspective about future trends in their market. Renée is the buyer in a customer’s firm and tries to sell Sjaak’s perspective on the market to his colleagues. Suddenly Sjaak realizes that he has provided Renée with the wrong information, and he immediately calls Renée. Renée is irritated and responds, “Do you know that you may have hurt my reputation?” Sjaak apologizes and says, “I want to explain my mistakes to your colleagues personally.” Why is it that Sjaak wants to explain his mistakes in person? Scenario 2 Before visiting a customer, Jacqueline always browses that customer’s website. While browsing one of these websites she notices that the director, whom she has known for a long time, still works for the firm in question; but she also notices that many new people have joined the firm. Jacqueline is especially curious about what these new people think of her firm. However, Jacqueline first decides to talk with the director, the person she has known a long time; therefore she calls him to suggest having dinner together. Why did Jacqueline ask the director to have dinner with her? Scenario 3 Wouter is a street-smart salesperson and always tries to consider the personal interests of his customers. He mentions a customer’s personal interests to his secretary so that she can look for a gift that fits the customer’s needs exactly. He knows that when he surprises his customers, they invite him for dinner. Before sending a surprise present, Wouter calls the customer and says, “Hey, pal, take note: now I am not sending you a bill!” Why does Wouter call the customer and make this statement? Scenario 4 Henk talks to a buyer, Janine. As the conversation evolves, Henk realizes that Janine shies away from sensitive issues. He starts to realize that Janine’s influence in the firm might be far less than he had assumed. Consequently, Henk considers how he can get around Janine without hurting her pride. He tells Janine, “During our next meeting perhaps it would be convenient to have a colleague from our technical staff join us, so would you also invite a colleague of yours?” Why does Henk suggest that Janine invite other people to join the conversation? Scenario 5 Ralph, who is a buyer, talks to Pieter and to Pieter’s secretary. Ralph notices that Pieter is unfairly skeptical about his story while Pieter’s secretary is more receptive to his arguments. Ralph then adds something to the conversation. He tells Pieter a funny anecdote about how his own secretary once provided him with an insight which allowed him to avoid a grave mistake. Why does Ralph mention this anecdote about his own secretary? Process Task Scenario 1 In a steel company the buying process occurs via a well-defined method: The buyers first study how earlier firms supplied goods; and, in collaboration with the technical staff, they make up a request for a proposal. This RFP is then sent by e-mail to salespersons from different firms, who then indicate by e-mail whether they can match the request for proposal. Subsequently, using economical arguments, the buyers determine which salesperson will deliver the goods. On what bases do buyers make decisions about which salesperson will deliver goods? Scenario 2 An account manager visits his customers every year. According to a well-defined protocol he has to visit all the factory plants; and, in order to plan these visits, he uses a call-plan system. This planning system determines how different plants can be visited in the shortest amount of time. The account manager studies the planning results and notices that the plant in Amsterdam is the last one he has to visit. Why does the account manager visit the Amsterdam plant last? Scenario 3 Long before the Christmas season, Mr. Versteeg, a salesperson, looks at the rules his company has devised for determining how much to spend on presents to be sent to his customers. Next he chooses two presents that match the set price. Another department then determines which present best fits the company policy rules; this evaluation process lasts a few weeks. Finally, presents are bought and are sent by mail to the customers. Why does Mister Versteeg begin deciding so early what presents to buy for his customers? Scenario 4 For the customer, the buying process occurs via well-defined protocols: The buying customer asks for a meeting with the company’s technical staff via e-mail. During the meeting, alternatives from different suppliers are discussed in order to determine which supplier best meets the company strategy. The resulting information is then sent to a manager, who instructs others to design a checklist for the buying parties. How does Miss Maartens, a customer, know that her buying follows the company policy? Scenario 5 An account manager of a bio-logistics company visits the customer in order to solve a logistics problem. The problem is that two of the customer’s three locations are being supplied by goods beyond the keeping abilities date. He explains to his customer that bio-logistics currently delivers the product in only one plant and that the other two plants are having their goods delivered internally. The account manager suggests that it would be best to have the goods delivered to all the plants. Why will a customer make more profit with the expansion of this service? Unlinked Sentences Task Scenario 1 The company alignment has four plants spread over the Benelux. It is now already the second time that Mister Jansen has been invited to give a presentation. Frank has been account manager for 14 years, and he trains new buyers in his firm. Because of the intense competition from the Internet the future looks different. Peter’s office is on the third floor. The problems with traffic jams have risen quickly in the Randstad. On which floor is Peter’s office? Scenario 2 On Main Street there is a large parking lot from which one can reach the train station. The construction of a network causes delay in information services. Miss Versteeg is an accountant and a mother of three children. The bicycle repairman just repaired a tube. The vacation time planned for this year is a bit unlucky because it falls at the time of an ad campaign. When the train arrives in the station at 4 o’clock we have 4 more hours before the theater performance starts. Who repaired the tube? Scenario 3 This year the weather warmed so quickly that the skating rink closed one month earlier. The buyer today is not present; he is at the new plant. At the courtroom they say that they will come up with a verdict within 6 weeks. The e-mail did not arrive because many people are working with the server. There is a strike in the public transportation system. Why did the e-mail not arrive? Scenario 4 The new broadcast about the nuclear experiments will be repeated at 12 o’clock. Gerard read enough and now has fallen asleep. Education takes on average 5 years, but it also can be finished in 4 years. We now live in an information age. New bridges are always built higher and longer, but where does all this end? It is time to move because this house is past its prime. The shops close at 9 p.m. Why is it time to move? Scenario 5 People are working hard on the new block, and they expect it to be ready at the end of next year. People are starting to ask when they will come with the new folder? One can ask if our vision about the future will catch on in the marketplace. The number of customers is rising according to a pattern. The housing market at this time is a bit unstable because the future of the tax deduction for rent is unclear. Around the Christmas season, the days are always short. Why is the housing market unstable?

Acknowledgements The extensive feedback and recommendations made by three anonymous reviewers and the editor are gratefully acknowledged. We also thank Professor C. Keysers for providing the emotional stimuli used in Study 2.