Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |1
EXPERIMENT
REACTION TIME TO NEUTRAL WORDS AND EMOTIONAL WORDS
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |2
Table of Contents
Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 4
Neutral Words ....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Emotional Words ................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Reaction Time ........................................................................................................................................................................ 5
Purpose.................................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Variables ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Hypothesis ............................................................................................................................................................................. 5
Methodology............................................................................................................................. 6
Design.................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Participants ........................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Apparatus .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Procedure .............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................................................ 7
Results ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Discussion ............................................................................................................................... 11
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 12
References .............................................................................................................................. 13
Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 14
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |3
Abstract
Psychological experiments allow researchers to understand human behavior by testing hypotheses. This
paper analyses the variation in the response latency with respect to different kinds of words read aloud to a
listener. The experiment involves one participant who is tested with a list of emotional and neutral words.
The reaction time to respond with a different word is recorded and hence compared with the hypothesis. The
results are used to evaluate the outcome of the investigation. To support the rationale, the data is compared
with past findings, as well as scientific evidence.
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |4
Introduction
People's reaction to certain stimuli may vary depending on the nature of the stimuli. For example, the level
of a student's attention in class may differ with changes in the lighting condition. For our investigation, we
wanted to find out the variation in the reaction time taken by a participant to respond to neutral
words and emotional words.
Neutral Words
Neutral words are commonly used words that do not usually affect the feelings of a person. These can be
naming words or even words that describe an object. For example: ladder, table, chair, tall, short, wide,
narrow, etc.
Emotional Words
Emotional words are words that affect the feelings or emotions of an individual. Emotional words are
characterized by two features: 'Valence' and 'Arousal'. Valence (or evaluation) varies from negative to
positive and is defined as a measure of how pleasant or unpleasant a stimulus is, (Abernethy & Coney,
1993) whereas, arousal or activation, ranges from calm to highly arousing and is defined as a measure of
how intensely a person would want to approach or flee from a stimulus (Abernethy & Coney, 1996). Some
examples of emotional words include love, mother, child, peace, etc.
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |5
Reaction Time
Reaction time (RT), also named response time or response latency, is a simple and probably the most widely
used measure of behavioural response in time units (usually in milliseconds), from presentation of a given
task to its completion (Harald Baayen & Milin, 2016). There are various reaction time psychological
experiments such as ruler drop test, card sorting, response to neutral words and emotional words and so on.
Purpose
The purpose of our experiment was to find out whether the time taken to respond to emotional and neutral
words is different or not. Based on the outcome, our objective was to interpret and evaluate the results we
obtained.
Variables
There are two types of variables, namely independent and dependent. The independent variable for our
experiment was the set of emotional and neutral words and the dependent variable for our experiment was
the response time.
Hypothesis
Our hypothesis was that the reaction time taken to respond to emotional words is greater than the reaction
time to respond to neutral words.
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |6
Methodology
Design
A single subject repeated major design was used in this experiment.
Participants
The name of the participant was Shafin Hasan, a 21 year old undergraduate student of North South
University. He was a student of Biochemistry and Microbiology (DBM).
Apparatus
In this experiment, we used a timer, paper, pen, and a feedback form. The paper contained a list
of emotional and neutral words. Alongside each word was a space provided to write down the response
word and the time taken.
Procedure
Firstly, the participant was greeted and introduced to the experiment. He was given a piece of paper
containing the instructions. Thereafter, he was provided a consent form where both the participant and the
experimenter had to sign. The participant was given a set of neutral and emotional words. The experimenter
had to read out the words loudly to the participant. He would start the timer when uttering the word and stop
it upon hearing the response word. The participant had to respond with a different word that came to his
mind immediately, with the exception of saying the opposite word. The experimenter would record
the response time as [Link] experimenter then read through the instructions. He had a copy of all 30
words on a sheet but made sure that the participant did not see the list during the experiment. Having put the
list out of sight, he read out loud the initial word and started the timer. The subject had to respond as quickly
as possible with the first word that came to mind, but was told not to say the antonym of the word. As soon
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |7
as the participant answered, the experimenter stopped the timer and wrote down the word and the response
time.
Data Analysis
In this experiment, the total and the average response time was calculated for i) All words, ii) Neutral
words, and iii) Emotional words. At the beginning, the data for neutral and emotional words were isolated
into two distinct sets, Neutral words (N) and Emotional words (E). Each set contained fifteen words. The
time taken for each response word was recorded. The average time taken was then calculated using the
equation: Average time = (Total time/Total number of words)
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |8
Results
Reaction times were analyzed based on word type and response characteristics. The mean
reaction times (RT) for different word categories were as follows:
Table 1
Reaction Time to Emotional Words
No. Word Associated Meaning Reaction Time
1 Honeymoon Maldives 7.51 sec
2 Darling Favourite person 3.90 sec
3 Rage Angry 4.80 sec
4 Dance Pleasure 5.41 sec
5 Joy Happy face 4.70 sec
6 Song Spending time 6.83 sec
7 Flower Favourite item 2.83 sec
8 Mother Love 2.02 sec
9 Death Unavoidable 3.48 sec
10 Eid/Puja Religious festival 4.11 sec
11 Independence Be yourself 5.34 sec
12 Kiss Favourite 4.75 sec
13 Hug The heart is well 5.42 sec
14 Friend Closer person 6.67 sec
15 Love Disliked 5.08 sec
Total time = 72.85 sec
Average time = 4.86 sec
Table 2
Reaction Time to Neutral Word
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |9
No. Word Associated Meaning Reaction Time
1 Classroom Students 4.90 sec
2 Chair Table 2.23 sec
3 Watch Time machine 4.10 sec
4 Book Active knowledge 4.23 sec
5 Bag Carrying bag 4.27 sec
6 Cupboard Used for storage 2.54 sec
7 Iron Hard 3.32 sec
8 Paper Writing 1.78 sec
9 House Safety place 4.05 sec
10 Night Time for sleep 2.77 sec
11 Suitcase Carrier 2.87 sec
12 Umbrella Rain 4.57 sec
13 Spectacles Needful 4.04 sec
14 Pen Writing 3.00 sec
15 Tree Wood 4.55 sec
Total time = 51.22 sec
Average time = 3.41 sec
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |10
The bar graph below visually compares the average reaction times for emotional and neutral
words based on the data in your tables.
The graph shows that the Emotional Words have a significantly higher average reaction time
compared to the Neutral Words.
Emotional Words: 4.86 seconds
Neutral Words: 3.41 seconds
This result aligns with the hypothesis stated in your report: "the reaction time taken to respond
to emotional words is greater than the reaction time to respond to neutral words."
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |11
Discussion
Our purpose in this experiment was to compare the reaction time taken to respond to neutral
words and emotional words. The participant was given a set of 30 words containing 15 neutral
words and 15 emotional words. The participant had to respond with any word that came to his
mind immediately after listening to the stimulus word. The only exception was that he could not
utter the opposite word. The experimenter would start the timer when he read each word to the
participant and stop it upon hearing the response word. The time taken was recorded as well.
This procedure was followed throughout the experiment with all 30 words. Finally, the data was
compared by calculating the total and average response [Link] results showed that the
average time taken to respond to emotional words was 4.86 seconds, greater than the average
time taken to respond to neutral words, which was 3.41 seconds. Hence, we can accept our
[Link] findings, such as the results obtained by two university students, Abdullah and
Sami, had also proven that response time to emotional words is greater than that of neutral
[Link] can be several reasons behind this outcome. Emotional words tend to have a greater
impact on the functions of the brain. Emotional words have been shown to increase activation in
several left hemispheric word-processing areas, including inferior frontal gyrus and angular
gyrus . Increased activation to emotional words was also found in areas involved in explicit
emotional evaluation and memory such as the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and posterior
cingulate gyrus . These findings indicate that emotional word processing is prioritized compared
to neutral words across several stages of the information processing cascade (Hoffmann et al.,
2015).
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |12
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that an individual takes more time to respond to emotional words
compared to neutral words because emotional words have several neurological activities
associated with it that neutral words do not. Such as certain word-processing areas of the brain.
Furthermore, these words have an effect on a person's feelings and emotions. Overall, it takes
more time for him or her to respond to an emotional word.
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |13
References
Abernethy, M., & Coney, J. (1993). Associative priming in the hemispheres as a function of
SOA. Neuropsychologia, 31(12), 1397-1409.
Abernethy, M., & Coney, J. (1996). Semantic category priming in the left cerebral hemisphere.
Neuropsychologia, 34(5), 339-350.
Harald Baayen, R., & Milin, P. (2010). Analyzing Reaction Times. International Journal of
Psychological Research, 3(2), 12-28.
Hoffmann, M., Mothes-Lasch, M., Miltner, W. H., & Straube, T. (2015). Brain activation to
briefly presented emotional words: effects of stimulus awareness. Human brain mapping, 36(2),
655-665.
Reaction time to neutral words and emotional words |14
Appendices
