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Language and the perception of emotion.
Kristen A Lindquist1, Lisa Feldman Barrett, Eliza Bliss-Moreau
1Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA. lindqukr@bc.edu
Emotion (Washington, D.C.)
|April 28, 2006
Summary
The study found that making emotion words less accessible slowed down or reduced accuracy in perceiving emotions from facial expressions. This suggests language influences how we see emotions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Linguistics
Background:
- The relationship between language and emotion perception is a key area of psychological research.
- Understanding how linguistic factors influence emotional processing is crucial for cognitive science.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of emotion word accessibility on the perception of facial emotions.
- To test the hypothesis that semantic satiation of emotion words affects emotion perception speed and accuracy.
Main Methods:
- Three studies were conducted involving semantic satiation procedures to manipulate emotion word accessibility.
- Participants' speed and accuracy in categorizing facial behaviors depicting emotions were measured.
- Facial stimuli depicting various emotions were presented after emotion words were either primed or satiated.
Main Results:
- Participants were slower to categorize facial emotions after emotion words were satiated (Studies 1 & 2).
- Participants demonstrated reduced accuracy in categorizing facial emotions following emotion word satiation (Study 3).
- The accessibility of emotion words significantly influenced the speed and accuracy of emotion perception.
Conclusions:
- Findings support a linguistically relative view of emotion perception.
- Language plays a significant role in shaping how individuals perceive and interpret emotions expressed facially.
- The study highlights the dynamic interplay between linguistic processing and emotional cognition.