The role of affective meaning, semantic associates, and orthographic neighbours in modulating the N400 in single words

• The N400 has been seen to be larger for concrete than abstract words, and for pseudowords than real words. Using a word vector analysis to calculate semantic associates (SA), as well as ratings for emotional arousal (EA), and a measure of orthographic neighbourhood (ON), the present study investigated the relation between these factors and N400 amplitudes during a lexical decision task using Swedish word stimuli. Four noun categories differing in concreteness: specific (squirrel), GENERAL (animal) emotional (happiness) and abstract (tendency) were compared with pseudowords (danalod). Results showed that N400 amplitudes increased in the order emotional < abstract < GENERAL < specific < PSEUDOWORD. A regression analysis showed that the amplitude of the N400 decreased the more semantic associates a word had and the higher the rating for emotional arousal it had. The N400 also increased the more orthographic neighbours a word had. Results provide support for the hierarchical organisation of concrete words assumed in lexical semantics. They also demonstrate how affective information facilitates meaning processing.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Jämförande språkvetenskap och allmän lingvistik (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- General Language Studies and Linguistics (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi -- Psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology -- Psychology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

concreteness

emotional arousal

semantic specificity

semantic associates

orthographic neighbours: ERP

N400

lexical decision

word vector

Swedish

Svenska språket / Nordiska språk

concreteness; emotional arousal; semantic specificity; semantic associates; orthographic neighbours: ERP; N400; lexical decision, word vector

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)