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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Published on: January 29, 2020

Compositionality in the language of emotion.

Federica Cavicchio¹, Svetlana Dachkovsky¹, Livnat Leemor²

¹Sign Language Research Lab, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.

|August 16, 2018

Summary

Intense emotions expressed through face and body actions show compositionality, similar to language. Specific features convey broader dominance/submission signals and particular emotions, suggesting an ancient foundation for complex communication.

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Last Updated: Feb 6, 2026

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

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Published on: January 29, 2020

The Emotional Stroop Task: Assessing Cognitive Performance under Exposure to Emotional Content

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary Psychology
Nonverbal Communication
Linguistics

Background:

Emotions are conveyed through complex facial and bodily actions.
A key debate exists on whether emotional expressions are discrete or compositional.
Human language is defined by compositionality – combining elements to create meaning.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if spontaneous emotional displays in athletes exhibit compositionality.
To explore parallels between the compositionality of emotional expressions and human language.
To understand how facial and bodily features contribute to the expression of intense emotions.

Main Methods:

Analysis of spontaneous facial and body displays of athletes after winning or losing competitions.
Participants interpreted emotions and their intensities from images of athletes.
Judgments were correlated with detailed coding of facial and body features.

Main Results:

Evidence for compositionality in intense emotional expressions was found.
Facial and body features significantly contributed to displays of dominance or submission.
Particular emotional components (e.g., happiness, frustration) also correlated with specific features.

Conclusions:

Corporeal expressions of intense emotion possess compositional properties.
These properties may represent an ancient foundation for the development of language.
Combinations of features linked to broader and particular emotions form complex emotional states.