Valence makes a stronger contribution than arousal to affective priming

PeerJ

Xiangru Zhu¹  Wenbo Luo²  Zhao Yao³ 

[1] Institute of Cognition, Brain and Health, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan, China;Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, Liaoning,China;Research Center of Shaanxi intelligence society development, Xidian University, Xi’an, Shaanxi, China;

关键词: Valence;    Arousal;    Affective priming;    Prime strength;    Lexical decision;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.7777

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background Recent data suggest that both word valence and arousal modulate subsequent cognitive processing. However, whether valence or arousal makes a stronger contribution to cognitive processing is less understood. Methods The present study performed three experiments that varied the valence (positive or negative) and arousal (high or low) of prime-target word pairs in a lexical decision-priming task. Affective priming was derived from pure valence (Experiment 1), pure arousal (Experiment 2), or a combination of valence and arousal (Experiment 3). Results By comparing three types of priming effects, we found an effect of valence on affective priming was obvious regardless of whether the relationship of the prime-target varied with valence, arousal, or the combination of valence and arousal. In contrast, an effect of arousal on affective priming only appeared in the condition that based on the arousal relationship of the prime-target pair. Moreover, the valence-driven priming effect, arousal-driven priming effect, and emotional-driven priming effect were modulated by valence type but not by arousal level of word stimuli. Conclusion The present results revealed a pattern of valence and arousal in semantic networks, indicating that the valence information of emotional words tends to be more stable than arousal information within the semantic system, at least in the present lexical decision-priming task.

【 授权许可】

Unknown