Event Date: Thursday, 17 March, 2016
Location: Via Santa Maria, 36, Pisa, PI, Italia [1st floor seminar room]
Speaker: Francesca Citron (Lancaster University)
Title: Emotional valence and arousal affect written word recognition in an interactive way: Behavioural and neurophysiological evidence
Abstract: In the last decade, research on the influence of affective variables on language processing has flourished, therefore challenging traditional models of word recognition that did not take such variables into account. We now know that emotionally-laden words (or verbal material more generally) are processed faster and more efficiently than neutral words, e.g., bomb or party vs. bag; they also elicit enhanced amplitude of event-related potential (ERP) components at early processing stages, indexing fast and automatic engagement, as well as at later stages, indexing sustained processing of evolutionary relevant material.
In my research, I specifically investigated possible interactive effects of the two main dimensions of affect, namely emotional valence (the extent to which a stimulus is positive or negative) and arousal (the extent of the physiological activation associated with it). According to an approach-withdrawal framework, positive valence as well as low arousal levels will elicit an approach reaction or mental set, while negative valence as well as high arousal levels will elicit withdrawal as they are both perceived as threatening. In the case of positive, highly arousing stimuli such as roller coaster, both approach and withdrawal tendencies will be elicited and hence, an implicit conflict will take place before a response decision can be made. In line with this framework, I found slower reaction times to words eliciting conflicting reactions, i.e., positive, high-arousal and negative, low-arousal words (roller coaster, lack), compared to words eliciting congruent reactions of approach (puppy) or withdrawal (bomb). I also found that this implicit conflict showed up at early processing stages, namely while we access our mental lexicon. In addition, conflict-evoking words elicited enhanced activation of a region of the brain called insula, where physiological reactions from the body and cognitive evaluation of an external stimulus are integrated in order to determine what we actually feel.
These results suggest that both dimensions of emotion need to be taken into account in the study of language processing, and more generally contribute to research on emotion.