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The Connection Between Emotional Language and Physiological Arousal: Insights from Semantic Processing

This study investigates how emotional language influences physiological arousal, focusing on the depth of semantic processing. Through two experiments measuring heart rates in response to emotional words, findings indicate that high arousal language prompts significant physiological responses, contingent on semantic processing. The results align with theories that posit semantic knowledge is grounded in bodily states, showcasing the interplay between language, emotion, and physiological reactions. These insights may further our understanding of emotional expressions and their effects on human physiology.

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The Connection Between Emotional Language and Physiological Arousal: Insights from Semantic Processing

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  1. Results Abstract Methodology References Physiological arousal in response to emotional language depends on processing depth Rebecca Hartley, Kyle Dunn, & Lawrence J. Taylor Northumbria University • Emotion causes bodily and physiological changes, but is semantic knowledge grounded in these bodily states? • There are bidirectional links between emotional valence and the facial muscles (Foroni & Semin, 2009; Strack et al., 1988). • If semantic knowledge about emotion is grounded in bodily states, we predict that high arousal language results in physiological arousal. • Two experiments demonstrate that the link between language and arousal depends on semantic processing. • A combined analysis showed an interaction between level of processing and word arousal (F (1,70) = 56.36, p = <.001). • This is due to an effect of arousal in the Semantic Task in Experiment 1 (F (1,35) = 79.85, p = <.001). • …but not in the Lexical Task in Experiment 2 (F (1,35) = 1.37, p = 0.25). • In two experiments, participants’ heart rates were measured while they responded to emotional words. • Frequency, length, and valence ratings were matched between lists while arousal ratings were manipulated between lists (ANEW database; Bradley & Lang, 1999). • In Experiment 1, participants formed one complete sentence for each word (Semantic Task). A new word was presented after each sentence was formed. • In Experiment 2, participants performed a lexical decision (Lexical Task). Low Arousal High Arousal • The difference emerges after approximately 15 seconds and persists for the duration of the task (NOTE: the task lasts three minutes and each point on the x-axis corresponds to five seconds). Conclusions • Language describing high arousal results in physiological arousal. • This requires semantic processing of the language (at least at this resolution). • These results are consistent with the prediction that knowledge is grounded in bodily states and that embodied effects in language are most robust in semantic tasks (Taylor & Zwaan, 2009, in press). Bradley, M.M., & Lang, P.J. (1999). Affective norms for English words (ANEW): Instruction manual and affective ratings. The Center for Research in Psychophysiology, University of Florida. Foroni, F. & Semin, G. R. (2009). Language That Puts You in Touch With Your Bodily Feelings. Psychological Science,20(8),974-980. Strack, F., Martin, L. L., & Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile: A nonobtrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(5), 768-777. Taylor, L. J. & Zwaan, R. A. (2009). Language in cognition: The case of language. Language & Cognition, 1, 45-58.

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