Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 1, 2025

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning
Published on: January 29, 2020
Linguistic positivity in soft and hard disciplines: temporal dynamics, disciplinary variation, and the relationship
1Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 1037 Luoyu Road, Wuhan, China.
Abstract:
Previous studies have investigated the use of positive/negative language in academic discourse, and have found a tendency toward using more positive language in academic writing. However, little is known about whether the features and dynamics of linguistic positivity vary across disciplines. In addition, the relationship between linguistic positivity and research impact deserves further evaluation. To address these issues, the present study investigated linguistic positivity in academic writing from a cross-disciplinary perspective. Based on a 111-million-word corpus of research article abstracts collected from the Web of Science, the study examined the diachronic trends of positive/negative language in eight academic disciplines, and explored the relationship between linguistic positivity and citation counts. The results demonstrated that the increase in linguistic positivity is a common phenomenon across the examined academic disciplines. In addition, hard disciplines showed a higher and faster-growing degree of linguistic positivity compared with soft disciplines. Last, a significant positive correlation was identified between citation counts and the degree of linguistic positivity. Reasons for the temporal dynamics and disciplinary variation of linguistic positivity were explored, and implications for the scientific community were discussed.
More Related Videos
09:09Foreign Accent and Forensic Speaker Identification in Voice Lineups: The Influence of Acoustic Features Based on Prosody
Published on: September 27, 2024
06:16Involving Individuals with Developmental Language Disorder and Their Parents/Carers in Research Priority Setting
Published on: June 6, 2020
Related Concept Videos
Language and Cognition
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Long-term Potentiation
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when...
Relationship Formation
Humanistic Psychology
This approach...
Components of Language