Abstract
We report a novel finding on the relation of emotion and language. Covert manipulation of emotional facial posture interacts with sentence valence when measuring the amount of time to judge valence (Experiment 1) and sensibility (Experiment 2) of the sentence. In each case, an emotion-sentence compatibility effect is found: Judgment times are faster when facial posture and sentence valence match than when they mismatch. We interpret the finding using a simulation account; that is, emotional systems contribute to language comprehension much as they do in social interaction. Because the effect was not observed on a lexical decision task using emotion-laden words (Experiment 3), we suggest that the emotion simulation affects comprehension processes beyond initial lexical access.
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This work was supported by NSF Grants BCS-0315434 and INT-0233175 to A.M.G. and a grant from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to M.R. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF
Note—Accepted by David A. Balota’s editorial team
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Havas, D.A., Glenberg, A.M. & Rinck, M. Emotion simulation during language comprehension. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14, 436–441 (2007). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194085
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03194085