Effects of Valence and Emotional Intensity on the Comprehension and Memorization of Texts
In the present study, we independently manipulated valence (positive, negative, or neutral) and emotional intensity (low, medium, or high), asking what impact they have on text comprehension (via surface, paraphrase, and inference questions) and memorization (via Remember/Know test) in adults. Resul...
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doaj-75a502a8b91d4017977c8884112563902020-11-25T02:01:53ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782019-02-011010.3389/fpsyg.2019.00179430571Effects of Valence and Emotional Intensity on the Comprehension and Memorization of TextsOlga Megalakaki0Olga Megalakaki1Ugo Ballenghein2Thierry Baccino3CRP-CPO (EA7273), Université de Picardie, Amiens, FranceCHART/LUTIN (EA 4004), Université Paris 8, Paris, FranceCHART/LUTIN (EA 4004), Université Paris 8, Paris, FranceCHART/LUTIN (EA 4004), Université Paris 8, Paris, FranceIn the present study, we independently manipulated valence (positive, negative, or neutral) and emotional intensity (low, medium, or high), asking what impact they have on text comprehension (via surface, paraphrase, and inference questions) and memorization (via Remember/Know test) in adults. Results show that emotional contents, including valence and intensity affects comprehension. Emotional valence had a significant effect on text comprehension, with higher scores for positive and neutral texts than for negative ones. Participants scored higher on the surface questions for positive texts and on the inference questions for negative texts, with equivalent scores for paraphrase questions. Regarding emotional intensity, medium intensity generally fostered better comprehension of both positive and negative texts. High emotional intensity is beneficial for positively valenced texts, but hinders the understanding of negatively valenced ones. Regarding memorization, participants recalled more emotional words than neutral ones, and more words for positive texts than for either negative or neutral ones. In conclusion, our results show that emotions play an important role and improve the processing of information.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00179/fullemotionsarousalcomprehensionmemorizationadults |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Olga Megalakaki Olga Megalakaki Ugo Ballenghein Thierry Baccino |
spellingShingle |
Olga Megalakaki Olga Megalakaki Ugo Ballenghein Thierry Baccino Effects of Valence and Emotional Intensity on the Comprehension and Memorization of Texts Frontiers in Psychology emotions arousal comprehension memorization adults |
author_facet |
Olga Megalakaki Olga Megalakaki Ugo Ballenghein Thierry Baccino |
author_sort |
Olga Megalakaki |
title |
Effects of Valence and Emotional Intensity on the Comprehension and Memorization of Texts |
title_short |
Effects of Valence and Emotional Intensity on the Comprehension and Memorization of Texts |
title_full |
Effects of Valence and Emotional Intensity on the Comprehension and Memorization of Texts |
title_fullStr |
Effects of Valence and Emotional Intensity on the Comprehension and Memorization of Texts |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of Valence and Emotional Intensity on the Comprehension and Memorization of Texts |
title_sort |
effects of valence and emotional intensity on the comprehension and memorization of texts |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2019-02-01 |
description |
In the present study, we independently manipulated valence (positive, negative, or neutral) and emotional intensity (low, medium, or high), asking what impact they have on text comprehension (via surface, paraphrase, and inference questions) and memorization (via Remember/Know test) in adults. Results show that emotional contents, including valence and intensity affects comprehension. Emotional valence had a significant effect on text comprehension, with higher scores for positive and neutral texts than for negative ones. Participants scored higher on the surface questions for positive texts and on the inference questions for negative texts, with equivalent scores for paraphrase questions. Regarding emotional intensity, medium intensity generally fostered better comprehension of both positive and negative texts. High emotional intensity is beneficial for positively valenced texts, but hinders the understanding of negatively valenced ones. Regarding memorization, participants recalled more emotional words than neutral ones, and more words for positive texts than for either negative or neutral ones. In conclusion, our results show that emotions play an important role and improve the processing of information. |
topic |
emotions arousal comprehension memorization adults |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00179/full |
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