Effects of emotional state on lexical decision performance

The effect of emotional state on lexical processing was investigated. Subjects were randomly assigned to either a happy or sad mood condition. Emotional state was then induced by listening to 8 min of classical music previously rated to induce happy or sad moods. Response times and error rates were analyzed in a lexical decision task involving sad words, happy words, and pseudowords. Results suggest that emotion aided the participants in responding to emotion-congruent stimuli. The sad group responded faster than the happy group to sad words and the happy group responded faster than the sad group to happy words. Results are discussed with regard to information processing and emotion.     

Investigating hemispheric specialization in a novel face-word Stroop task

We examined hemispheric specialization in a lateralized Stroop facial identification task. A 2 (presentation side: left or right visual field [LVF or RVF])x2 (picture emotion: happy or angry)x3 (emotion of distractor word: happy, angry, or blank) factorial design placed the right hemispheric specialization for emotional expression processing and the left hemispheric specialization for verbal processing in conflict. Faces (from ) and emotion words were briefly displayed, and participants responded with keypresses corresponding to the picture emotion. As predicted, greater Stroop interference in identification accuracy was found with incongruent displays of facial expression in the LVF and emotion words in the RVF, and females exhibited less Stroop interference. Reaction times were moderated by emotion and visual field.     

Being Happy and Seeing 'Happy' ': Emotional State Mediates Visual Word Recognition

Lexical decision and word-naming experiments were conducted to examine influences of emotions in visual word recognition. Emotional states of happiness and sadness were induced with classical music. In the first two experiments, happy and sad participants (and neutral-emotion participants in Experiment 2) made lexical decisions about letter-strings, some of which were words with meanings strongly associated with the emotions happiness, love, sadness, and anger. Emotional state of the perceiver was associated with facilitation of response to words categorically related to that emotion (i.e. happy and sad words). However, such facilitation was not observed for words that were related by valence, but not category, to the induced emotions (i.e. love and anger words). Evidence for categorical influences of emotional state in word recognition was also observed in a third experiment that employed a word-naming task. Together the results support a categorical emotions model of the influences of emotion in information processing (Niedenthal, Setterlund, & Jones, 1994). Moreover, the result of the wordnaming experiment suggests that the effects of emotion are evident at very early stages in cognitive processing.     

The moderating effects of contamination sensitivity on state affect and information processing: Examination of disgust specificity

Although contamination sensitivity has been implicated in several disorders, there is a paucity of research examining the influence of this trait on various outcomes. Accordingly, the present study examined the extent to which individual differences in contamination sensitivity moderated state affect in response to a mood induction and subsequent information processing biases, as assessed by a lexical decision task (LDT). It was hypothesised that the moderating effects of contamination sensitivity would be specific to disgust responding to a negative but not positive mood induction, and to reaction times to disgust and fear compared to happy words on the LDT. The findings were largely consistent with this hypothesis, as contamination sensitivity predicted increased disgust and arousal to the negative mood induction. Contamination sensitivity was also a better predictor of reaction times to disgust and fear words than happy words. However, the moderating effect of contamination sensitivity on reaction times on the LDT was not mediated by its effects on response to the negative mood induction. Implications of these findings for conceptualising the role of contamination sensitivity and its association with disgust in specific disorders are discussed.     

The moderating effects of contamination sensitivity on state affect and information processing: examination of disgust specificity

Although contamination sensitivity has been implicated in several disorders, there is a paucity of research examining the influence of this trait on various outcomes. Accordingly, the present study examined the extent to which individual differences in contamination sensitivity moderated state affect in response to a mood induction and subsequent information processing biases, as assessed by a lexical decision task (LDT). It was hypothesised that the moderating effects of contamination sensitivity would be specific to disgust responding to a negative but not positive mood induction, and to reaction times to disgust and fear compared to happy words on the LDT. The findings were largely consistent with this hypothesis, as contamination sensitivity predicted increased disgust and arousal to the negative mood induction. Contamination sensitivity was also a better predictor of reaction times to disgust and fear words than happy words. However, the moderating effect of contamination sensitivity on reaction times on the LDT was not mediated by its effects on response to the negative mood induction. Implications of these findings for conceptualising the role of contamination sensitivity and its association with disgust in specific disorders are discussed.     

Do two separate speech measures constrain verbal short-term memory in children?

Previous research has indicated that 2 processing rates may constrain verbal short-term memory performance. These have been linked to individual differences in (a) the time taken to articulate spoken words and (b) the duration of pauses that occur between words in the output responses to memory tasks. Two experiments examined whether evidence for these effects on memory can be obtained for measures taken from a single speech sample. Children articulated pairs of words as rapidly as possible. In both experiments, the spoken duration of words and the length of the pauses between them predicted significant variance in verbal short-term memory performance. It is argued that the duration of words is linked to memory performance through the processes underlying time-based forgetting in short-term memory. In contrast, the duration of pauses in speeded articulation may index individual differences in speech planning processes.     

记忆加工策略对ECM的影响

该研究采用ECM实验范式,操纵记忆加工策略验证联想网络模型或情绪渗透模型。电影片段诱发被试高兴或悲伤的情绪状态后,被试在有意识记和无意识记加工策略下学习情绪词,然后进行自由回忆。结果：情绪电影片段成功诱发被试高兴或悲伤情绪;被试在采用无意识记和有意识记加工策略学习情绪词时均出现ECM,无意识记加工策略下效应量的大小显著高于有意识记加工策略下效应量的大小,实验结果支持情绪渗透模型。     

The influence of indirect and direct emotional processing on memory for facial expressions

We used the remember-know procedure (Tulving, 1985 ) to test the behavioural expression of memory following indirect and direct forms of emotional processing at encoding. Participants (N=32) viewed a series of facial expressions (happy, fearful, angry, and neutral) while performing tasks involving either indirect (gender discrimination) or direct (emotion discrimination) emotion processing. After a delay, participants completed a surprise recognition memory test. Our results revealed that indirect encoding of emotion produced enhanced memory for fearful faces whereas direct encoding of emotion produced enhanced memory for angry faces. In contrast, happy faces were better remembered than neutral faces after both indirect and direct encoding tasks. These findings suggest that fearful and angry faces benefit from a recollective advantage when they are encoded in a way that is consistent with the predictive nature of their threat. We propose that the broad memory advantage for happy faces may reflect a form of cognitive flexibility that is specific to positive emotions.     

Be aware of the rifle but do not forget the stench: differential effects of fear and disgust on lexical processing and memory

The aim of this study was to investigate the role of discrete emotions in lexical processing and memory, focusing on disgust and fear. We compared neutral words to disgust-related words and fear-related words in three experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants performed a lexical decision task (LDT), and in Experiment 3 an affective categorisation task. These tasks were followed by an unexpected memory task. The results of the LDT experiments showed slower reaction times for both types of negative words with respect to neutral words, plus a higher percentage of errors, this being more consistent for fear-related words (Experiments 1 and 2) than for disgust-related words (Experiment 2). Furthermore, only disgusting words exhibited a higher recall accuracy than neutral words in the memory task. Moreover, the advantage in memory for disgusting words disappeared when participants carried out an affective categorisation task during encoding (Experiment 3), suggesting that the superiority in memory for disgusting words observed in Experiments 1 and 2 could be due to greater elaborative processing. Taken together, these findings point to the relevance of discrete emotions in explaining the effects of the emotional content on lexical processing and memory.     

Interoceptive sensitivity predicts sensitivity to the emotions of others

Some theories of emotion emphasise a close relationship between interoception and subjective experiences of emotion. In this study, we used facial expressions to examine whether interoceptive sensibility modulated emotional experience in a social context. Interoceptive sensibility was measured using the heartbeat detection task. To estimate individual emotional sensitivity, we made morphed photos that ranged between a neutral and an emotional facial expression (i.e., anger, sadness, disgust and happy). Recognition rates of particular emotions from these photos were calculated and considered as emotional sensitivity thresholds. Our results indicate that participants with accurate interoceptive awareness are sensitive to the emotions of others, especially for expressions of sadness and happy. We also found that false responses to sad faces were closely related with an individual's degree of social anxiety. These results suggest that interoceptive awareness modulates the intensity of the subjective experience of emotion and affects individual traits related to emotion processing.     

RESOLUTION OF LEXICAL AMBIGUITY BY EMOTIONAL STATE

Abstract— The role of emotion in the resolution of lexical ambiguity was investigated. Happy and sad subjects listened to a list of words that included homophones that had happy and neutral meanings (eg., presents-presence ) and homophones that had sad and neutral meanings (eg., mourning-morning ). Words were presented every 3 s, and subjects wrote down the words, as they heard them (Meaning could be identified by spelling in all cases). An interaction between emotional state and homophone category was observed. Sad subjects were more likely to write down sad meanings than were happy subjects. Results are discussed with reference to the literatures on both emotion and lexical access.     

Mood-congruent and mood-incongruent learning

We report two experiments that investigate the effect of an induced mood on the incidental learning of emotionally toned words. Subjects were put in a happy or sad mood by means of a suggestion technique and rated the emotional valence of a list of words. Later on, they were asked to recall the words in a neutral mood. For words with a strong emotional valence, mood-congruent learning was observed: strongly unpleasant words were recalled better by sad subjects and strongly pleasant words were recalled better by happy subjects. The reverse was true for slightly toned words: here, mood-incongruent learning was observed. Both effects are predicted by a two component processing model that specifies the effect of the mood on the cognitive processes during learning. Further evidence for the model is given by rating times measured in Experiment 2.     

Effects of emotional prosody on novel word learning in relation to autism-like traits

Emotional information can influence various cognitive processes, such as attention, motivation, and memory. Differences in the processing of emotion have been observed in individuals with high levels of autism-like traits. The current study aimed to determine the influence of emotional prosody on word learning ability in neurotypical adults who varied in their levels of autism-like traits. Thirty-eight participants learned 30 nonsense words as names for 30 “alien” characters. Alien names were verbally presented with happy, fearful, or neutral prosody. For all participants, recall performance was significantly worse for words spoken with fearful prosody compared to neutral. Recall performance was also worse for words spoken with happy prosody compared to neutral, but only for those with lower levels of autism-like traits. The findings suggest that emotional prosody can interfere with word learning, and that people with fewer autism-like traits may be more susceptible to such interference due to a higher attention bias toward emotion.     

Effects of induced emotional state on lexical processing in younger and older adults

The authors investigated the effects of an induced emotional mood state on lexical decision task (LDT) performance in 50 young adults and 25 older adults. Participants were randomly assigned to either happy or sad mood induction conditions. An emotional mood state was induced by having the participants listen to 8 min of classical music previously rated to induce happy or sad moods. Results replicated previous studies with young adults (i.e., sad-induced individuals responded faster to sad words and happy-induced individuals responded faster to happy words) and extended this pattern to older adults. Results are discussed with regard to information processing, aging, and emotion.     

Effects of Induced Emotional State on Lexical Processing in Younger and Older Adults

The authors investigated the effects of an induced emotional mood state on lexical decision task (LDT) performance in 50 young adults and 25 older adults. Participants were randomly assigned to either happy or sad mood induction conditions. An emotional mood state was induced by having the participants listen to 8 min of classical music previously rated to induce happy or sad moods. Results replicated previous studies with young adults (i.e., sad-induced individuals responded faster to sad words and happy-induced individuals responded faster to happy words) and extended this pattern to older adults. Results are discussed with regard to information processing, aging, and emotion.     

Emotional Conception: How Embodied Emotion Concepts Guide Perception and Facial Action

ABSTRACT— This study assessed embodied simulation via electromyography (EMG) as participants first encoded emotionally ambiguous faces with emotion concepts (i.e., "angry,""happy") and later passively viewed the faces without the concepts. Memory for the faces was also measured. At initial encoding, participants displayed more smiling-related EMG activity in response to faces paired with "happy" than in response to faces paired with "angry." Later, in the absence of concepts, participants remembered happiness-encoded faces as happier than anger-encoded faces. Further, during passive reexposure to the ambiguous faces, participants' EMG indicated spontaneous emotion-specific mimicry, which in turn predicted memory bias. No specific EMG activity was observed when participants encoded or viewed faces with non-emotion-related valenced concepts, or when participants encoded or viewed Chinese ideographs. From an embodiment perspective, emotion simulation is a measure of what is currently perceived. Thus, these findings provide evidence of genuine concept-driven changes in emotion perception. More generally, the findings highlight embodiment's role in the representation and processing of emotional information.     

Visual-Field Bias in the Judgment of Facial Expression of Emotion

The left and right hemispheres of the brain are differentially related to the processing of emotions. Although there is little doubt that the right hemisphere is relatively superior for processing negative emotions, controversy exists over the hemispheric role in the processing of positive emotions. Eighty right-handed normal male participants were examined for visual-field (left-right) differences in the perception of facial expressions of emotion. Facial composite (RR, LL) and hemifacial (R, L) sets depicting emotion expressions of happiness and sadness were prepared. Pairs of such photographs were presented bilaterally for 150 ms, and participants were asked to select the photographs that looked more expressive. A left visual-field superiority (a right-hemisphere function) was found for sad facial emotion. A hemispheric advantage in the perception of happy expression was not found.     

Visual-field bias in the judgment of facial expression of emotion

The left and right hemispheres of the brain are differentially related to the processing of emotions. Although there is little doubt that the right hemisphere is relatively superior for processing negative emotions, controversy exists over the hemispheric role in the processing of positive emotions. Eighty right-handed normal male participants were examined for visual-field (left-right) differences in the perception of facial expressions of emotion. Facial composite (RR, LL) and hemifacial (R, L) sets depicting emotion expressions of happiness and sadness were prepared. Pairs of such photographs were presented bilaterally for 150 ms, and participants were asked to select the photographs that looked more expressive. A left visual-field superiority (a right-hemisphere function) was found for sad facial emotion. A hemispheric advantage in the perception of happy expression was not found.     

Emotion perception is mediated by spatial frequency content

Spatial frequencies have been shown to play an important role in face identification, but very few studies have investigated the role of spatial frequency content in identifying different emotions. In the present study we investigated the role of spatial frequency in identifying happy and sad facial expressions. Two experiments were conducted to investigate (a) the role of specific spatial frequency content in emotion identification, and (b) hemispherical asymmetry in emotion identification. Given the links between global processing, happy emotions, and low frequencies, we hypothesized that low spatial frequencies would be important for identifying the happy expression. Correspondingly, we also hypothesized that high spatial frequencies would be important in identifying the sad expression given the links between local processing, sad emotions, and high spatial frequencies. As expected we found that the identification of happy expression was dependent on low spatial frequencies and the identification of sad expression was dependent on high spatial frequencies. There was a hemispheric asymmetry with the identification of sad expression, especially in the right hemisphere, possibly mediated by high spatial frequency content. Results indicate the importance of spatial frequency content in the identification of happy and sad emotional expressions and point to the mechanisms involved in emotion identification.     

词汇具体性对情绪名词效价加工影响的ERP研究

具体性和抽象性是词汇同一特性的两极, 是直接影响词汇加工过程的重要因素。本研究采用快速序列视觉呈现范式, 结合脑电技术探讨在有限注意资源内, 词汇具体性对情绪名词加工过程的影响。结果发现：名词加工早期和晚期阶段的ERP成分受到情绪效价的调节, 情绪词比中性词诱发了更大的N170和LPC波幅; 名词加工早期和晚期阶段的ERP成分也受到词汇具体性的调节, 具体词比抽象词诱发了更大的N170和LPC波幅; 词汇具体性影响情绪名词加工的晚期阶段, LPC波幅能够分辨出不同情绪效价的抽象词, 对于具体词仅能区分出情绪与非情绪, 这说明抽象词可能比具体词负载了更多的情绪信息, 反映出对情绪信息的精细加工过程。