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How are affective word ratings related to lexicosemantic properties? Evidence from the Sussex Affective Word List

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2012

FRANCESCA M. M. CITRON ,
BRENDAN S. WEEKES  and
EVELYN C. FERSTL
FRANCESCA M. M. CITRON*
Affiliation:
University of Sussex and Freie Universität Berlin
BRENDAN S. WEEKES
Affiliation:
University of Sussex and University of Hong Kong
EVELYN C. FERSTL
Affiliation:
University of Sussex and Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Francesca Citron, Languages of Emotion Cluster, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, Berlin 14195, Germany. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Emotional content of verbal material affects the speed of visual word recognition in various cognitive tasks, independently of lexicosemantic variables. However, little is known about how the dimensions of emotional arousal and valence interact with the lexicosemantic properties of words such as age of acquisition, familiarity, and imageability, that determine word recognition performance. This study aimed to examine these relationships using English ratings for affective and lexicosemantic features. Eighty-two native English speakers rated 300 words for emotional valence, arousal, familiarity, age of acquisition, and imageability. Although both dimensions of emotion were correlated with lexicosemantic variables, a unique emotion cluster produced the strongest quadratic relationship. This finding suggests that emotion should be included in models of word recognition as it is likely to make an independent contribution.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , March 2014 , pp. 313 - 331
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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