Abstract

FRAGA CAROU, Isabel et al. Attentional Processing and Recall of Emotional Words. rev.latinoam.psicol. [online]. 2011, vol.43, n.3, pp.401-418. ISSN 0120-0534.

Three experiments were carried out in order to evaluate the attention paid to words of different emotional value. A dual-task experimental paradigm was employed, registering response times to acoustic tones which were presented during the reading of words. The recall was also evaluated by means of an intentional immediate recall test. The results reveal that neither the emotional valence nor the arousal of words on their own affected the attention paid by participants. Only in the third experiment, in which words belonging to two specific semantic categories (sexual and threatening) were used, did females show significantly higher RTS for threatening words. Nonetheless, significant differences were observed in the immediate subsequent recall for the different types of words in all three experiments. Future studies should take into account: a) the differential status of words and pictures to capture attention, b) the differential influence of valence, as well as arousal, on recall of emotional words, and c) the differential effects of the semantic category on the attention paid to these words by males and females.

Keywords : Emotional words; attention; recall; sex differences.

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