The Influence of Emotional and Non-emotional Concepts Activation on Information Processing and Unintentional Memorizing

The aim of the work is to compare mechanisms of semantic and emotional processing and memory. Targets (words and non-words) were primed (100 ms) by category name (semantic in Experiment 1 and emotional in Experiment 2). The congruency of prime and target was manipulated. The reaction time of lexical decisions and the effects of unintentional memorizing of word targets were measured. Activation of semantic (Experiment 1) and emotional (Experiment 2) nodes leads to faster processing of related concepts: congruent targets are processed faster than incongruent. Processing congruent primed emotional concepts depends on their modality: anger and joy words are processed faster than sadness. Thus, congruently primed activating emotional concepts are processed differently from congruently primed deactivating concepts. The effectiveness of unintentional memory of emotional and non-emotional concepts (words) is based on different mechanisms: congruently primed emotional words are better remembered than incongruently primed. The results are discussed in the framework of spreading activation theory and theory of emotional memory.