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Automatic vigilance for negative words is categorical and general

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Estes, Zachary, 1973- and Adelman, James S. . (2008) Automatic vigilance for negative words is categorical and general. Emotion, Vol.8 (No.4). pp. 453-457. ISSN 1528-3542

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0012887

Abstract

With other factors controlled, negative words elicit slower lexical decisions and naming than positive words (Estes & Adelman, 2008; see record 2008-09984-001). Moreover, this marked difference in responding to negative words and to positive words (i.e., between-category discontinuity) was accompanied by relatively uniform responding among negative words (i.e., within-category equivalence), thus suggesting a categorical model of automatic vigilance. Larsen, Mercer, Balota, and Strube (this issue; see record 2008-09984-002) corroborated our observation that valence predicts lexical decision and word naming latencies. However, on the basis of an interaction between linear arousal and linear valence, they claim that automatic vigilance does not occur among arousing stimuli and they purport to reject the categorical model. Here we show that (a) this interaction is logically irrelevant to whether automatic vigilance is categorical; (b) the linear interaction is statistically consistent with the categorical model; (c) the interaction is not observed within the categorical model; and (d) despite having 5 fewer parameters, the categorical model predicts word recognition times as well as the interaction model. Thus, automatic vigilance is categorical and generalizes across levels of arousal

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Lexical grammar, Dependency grammar, Perception -- Research
Journal or Publication Title:	Emotion
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
ISSN:	1528-3542
Date:	August 2008
Volume:	Vol.8
Number:	No.4
Page Range:	pp. 453-457
Identification Number:	10.1037/a0012887
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/374