Affective picture processing is modulated by emotion word type in masked priming paradigm: an event-related potential study

In order to explore the affective priming effect of emotion-label words and emotion-laden words, the current study used unmasked (Experiment 1) and masked (Experiment 2) priming paradigm by including emotion-label words (e.g., sadness, anger) and emotion-laden words (e.g., death, gift) as primes and examined how the two kinds of words acted upon the processing of the target words (all emotion-laden words). Participants were instructed to decide the valence of target words, and their electroencephalogram was recorded at the same time. The behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) results showed that positive words produced a priming effect whereas negative words inhibited target word processing (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, the inhibition effect of negative emotion-label words on emotion word recognition was found in both behavioral and ERP results, suggesting that modulation of emotion word type on emotion word processing could be observed even in the masked priming paradigm. The two experiments further supported the necessity of defining emotion words under an emotion word type perspective. The implications of the findings are proffered. Specifically, a clear understanding of emotion-label words and emotion-laden words can improve the effectiveness of emotional communications in clinical settings. Theoretically, the emotion word type perspective awaits further explorations and is still at its infancy.

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The time course of emotional picture processing: an event-related potential study using a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00954 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Chuanlin Zhu ◽

Weiqi He ◽

Zhengyang Qi ◽

Lili Wang ◽

Dongqing Song ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rapid Serial Visual Presentation ◽

Time Course ◽

Visual Presentation ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Picture Processing ◽

Potential Study ◽

Emotional Picture

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Masked translation priming with cognates and noncognates: Is there an effect of words’ concreteness?

Bilingualism Language and Cognition ◽

10.1017/s1366728916000262 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 20 (4) ◽

pp. 770-782 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

PILAR FERRÉ ◽

ROSA SÁNCHEZ-CASAS ◽

MONTSERRAT COMESAÑA ◽

JOSEP DEMESTRE

Keyword(s):

Word Type ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Stimulus Onset ◽

Feature Model ◽

Conceptual System ◽

Translation Priming ◽

Priming Paradigm ◽

Onset Asynchrony ◽

First Time ◽

Masked Translation Priming

In the domain of bilingualism, a main issue of interest has been to determine whether the two languages are shared at a conceptual level and which variables modulate the access to the conceptual system. In this study, we focused on the effects of two variables related to word-type. We tested proficient unbalanced Spanish–English bilinguals in a masked translation priming paradigm conducted in the two translation directions (L1 to L2, and L2 to L1), by orthogonally manipulating for the first time concreteness and cognate status. The stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) was also manipulated (50 ms vs 100 ms). Results revealed modulations in masked priming effects as a function of cognate status and translation direction. However, the effect of concreteness was only observed at the long SOA. The findings are discussed in light of the most relevant models of bilingual memory, mainly the Distributed Feature Model (de Groot, 1992a).

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Can Masked Emotion-Laden Words Prime Emotion-Label Words? An ERP Test on the Mediated Account

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.721783 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Chenggang Wu ◽

Juan Zhang ◽

Zhen Yuan

Keyword(s):

Word Processing ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Judgment Task ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Congruent Condition ◽

Late Positivity ◽

Target Emotion ◽

Priming Paradigm ◽

Emotion Label ◽

Present Event

The present event-related potential (ERP) study explored whether masked emotion-laden words could facilitate the processing of both emotion-label words and emotion-laden words in a valence judgment task. The results revealed that emotion-laden words as primes failed to influence target emotion-label word processing, whereas emotion-laden words facilitated target emotion-laden words in the congruent condition. Specifically, decreased late positivity complex (LPC) was elicited by emotion-laden words primed by emotion-laden words of the same valence than those primed by emotion-laden words of different valence. Nevertheless, no difference was observed for emotion-label words as targets. These findings supported the mediated account that claimed emotion-laden words engendered emotion via the mediation of emotion-label words and hypothesized that emotion-laden words could not prime emotion-label words in the masked priming paradigm. Moreover, this study provided additional evidence showing the distinction between emotion-laden words and emotion-label words.

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Cross-linguistic differences affect emotion and emotion-laden word processing: Evidence from Polish-English and Romanian-English bilinguals

International Journal of Bilingualism ◽

10.1177/1367006920987306 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 136700692098730

Author(s):

Katarzyna Bromberek-Dyzman ◽

Rafał Jończyk ◽

Monica Vasileanu ◽

Anabella-Gloria Niculescu-Gorpin ◽

Halszka Bąk

Keyword(s):

Second Language ◽

Fixed Effects ◽

Word Processing ◽

First Language ◽

Word Type ◽

Masked Priming ◽

Linguistic Differences ◽

Emotion Word ◽

Lower Accuracy ◽

Context Of Learning

Aims: We study how emotions are represented in Polish-English and Romanian-English bilinguals, whose respective languages either mostly share emotion lexicon (Romanian-English) or not (Polish-English). We test to what extent such variance in lexical proximity between the two bilingual groups affects their decisions about emotional word content. Methodology: In a masked priming paradigm, participants viewed prime-target adjective pairs, and judged whether the target adjective was positive or negative in meaning. Primes and targets either named (emotion word) or evoked (emotion-laden word) emotions, and were either related – that is, belonged to one word type (emotion or emotion-laden) – or unrelated. Data and analysis: Behavioural data were analysed using linear mixed-effects models, with within-subject fixed effects of language, word type, valence and relatedness, and their interactions. Findings/conclusions: We found processing facilitation of emotion-laden rather than emotion words in both participant groups, irrespective of language of operation. Emotion target adjectives, particularly of negative valence, tended to slow down responses of Polish-English bilinguals in their first language. In the Romanian-English group, emotion target adjectives were recognized with lower accuracy in the second language. This pattern of results suggests that affective responsiveness is modulated by the lexical proximity between the first language and second language. Originality: Extending bilingual emotion research, this study tests how emotions are represented in languages that vary in lexical proximity with English: Polish and Romanian. We demonstrate that cross-linguistic differences between the respective languages of a bilingual impact emotional meaning processing in the first and second language. Significance/implications: We provide support for the emotion context-of-learning theory, language-specific episodic trace theory and the sense model in bilingualism, showing that cross-linguistic differences between the first and second language modulate emotion and emotion-laden word processing. Our findings also demonstrate that the distinction between the emotion and emotion-laden words is not as universal as previously assumed.

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