否定情绪词的具身动态模拟过程

Research on the Embodied Dynamic Simulation Process of Negated Affective Words

实验1和实验2分别以“(不)+积极/消极情绪词”和“(不)+愤怒/悲伤情绪词”形式的情绪词语或否定短语作为实验材料,分别采取词-图匹配范式和趋近-回避范式,以否定加工的早期(250ms)和中后期(1000ms)两种探测时间,探讨否定对情绪词效价与动机维度加工是否符合否定的两步模拟假设。结果发现,否定情绪效价部分符合否定的两步模拟假设,早期以被否定的情绪状态模拟为主,即不高兴会首先激活高兴;中后期,否定消极词和积极词都被理解为积极;否定情绪动机维度并不符合否定的两步模拟假设,否定对愤怒与悲伤的趋近-回避的影响出现在否定加工中后期,否定改变愤怒的动机方向,由趋近变为回避,却没有改变悲伤的动机方向,悲伤仍表现为回避。本研究证明否定对情绪词的效价和动机维度部分符合两步模拟假设,否定情绪词有其特定的加工过程,各维度加工有所不同。

Embodied Cognitive Theories assumed that cognition, language and thought were rooted in perception and action. According to the Embodiment Theories, negation is an abstract concept, represented by the time consumption or the transformation of space trajectory embodiedly. The negation process is the dynamic perceptual simulation.The Two-Step Simulation Hypothesis assumed that the negative processing is a dynamic process, the negated state of the event is simulated at first, then the attention is transferred to the actual state of the event. In other words, the representation of negation is represented by time consuming in transition between two event states.Recent studies have found that negation plays a different role in regulation of positive and negative emotions. Some studies have shown that negation could effectively regulate the response to negative emotion, but there is no significant effect on positive emotion regulation. However, existing studies have demonstrated that positive emotion has its “positive bias” compared with negative emotions.Our primary purpose was to explore the effects of negation on the dimension of valence and motivation of emotional words, and whether the negation process was in line with the Two-Step Simulation Hypothesis of Negation.In Experiment 1, word-picture matching paradigm was adopted as experimental paradigm, in which Not/(positive) + emotional words as language materials and positive and negative emoticons as picture materials, and two ISIs(250ms and 1000ms) were used to detect early stage and middle-late stage of negation. Participants were asked to judge whether the emoticon was happy or not. All the experiment materials were estimated by the participants who did not participate in the formal experiment in order to ensure that materials were coherent and understandable. The results showed negated emotional words had a significant effect on the valence of emotion. Negation had an influence on the embodied representation of emotional word processing.In Experiment 2, the emotional words expressing anger and sadness with equivalent valence were selected as experiment materials to explore the effect of negation on the processing of emotional motivation by the paradigm of approach-avoidance action direction. The same two ISIs were adopted in Experiment 1. Experiment materials were estimated by participants who did not participate in Experiment 1 and 2 to ensure that materials were coherent and understandable. The results confirmed that negation affected motivational direction processing of emotional words, but differed between anger and sadness during different processing stages. The results did not match the Two-Step Simulation Hypothesis of Negation.These results suggest that negation processes may have a unique processing mechanism, which may not be explained simply by either two-step or one-step simulation. This means that there are some limitations in the Two-Step Simulation Hypothesis of Negation and some corrections should be made.In addition, this study only discusses the processing of emotional valence and emotional motivation expressing anger and sadness with equivalent valence. There is arousal level of emotion besides valence and motivation in emotional dimensions which has not been discussed in this study. The study is potentially valuable in the domain of negation process research.