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The influence of context on lexical decision times for emotionally aversive words

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Abstract

Forty-eight undergraduates made lexical decisions about emotionally aversive and nonemotional words. Emotionally aversive target words were preceded either by an emotionally aversive prime word, a nonemotional but semantically related prime or a nonemotional and semantically unrelated prime. Nonemotional targets were preceded by nonemotional primes which were either semantically related to targets, unrelated, or neutral (strings of Xs). Primes were presented for 50 ms to one group of 16 participants, 500 ms to a second group and 1250 ms to a third group. Measurement of lexical decision time showed significant semantic primary effects for nonemotional targets, and these were not influenced by prime duration. Priming effects for emotionally aversive targets due both to emotional and nonemotional relatedness of primes and targets were also found and these effects were not influenced by prime duration. The results are considered to be consistent with Bower’s (1981) associative network theory of memory, and possible clinical implications for explaining spontaneous panic attacks and the incubation of anxiety are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Keele, ST5 5BG, Keele, Staffordshire, England

    A. B. Hill

  2. University of Reading, UK

    S. M. Kemp-Wheeler

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  1. A. B. Hill
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  2. S. M. Kemp-Wheeler
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Hill, A.B., Kemp-Wheeler, S.M. The influence of context on lexical decision times for emotionally aversive words. Current Psychology 8, 219–227 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02686750

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