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. 2024 Jan 23:15:1308421.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1308421. eCollection 2024.

What distinguishes emotion-label words from emotion-laden words? The characterization of affective meaning from a multi-componential conception of emotions

Ángel-Armando Betancourt  1 , Marc Guasch  1 , Pilar Ferré  1
Affiliations

What distinguishes emotion-label words from emotion-laden words? The characterization of affective meaning from a multi-componential conception of emotions

Ángel-Armando Betancourt et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Past research that distinguishes between affective and neutral words has predominantly relied on two-dimensional models of emotion focused on valence and arousal. However, these two dimensions cannot differentiate between emotion-label words (e.g., fear) and emotion-laden words (e.g., death). In the current study, we aimed to determine the unique affective characteristics that differentiate emotion-label, emotion-laden, and neutral words. Therefore, apart from valence and arousal, we considered different affective features of multi-componential models of emotion: action, assessment, expression, feeling, and interoception. The study materials included 800 Spanish words (104 emotion-label words, 340 emotion-laden words, and 356 neutral words). To examine the differences between each word type, we carried out a Principal Component Analysis and a Random Forest Classifier technique. Our results indicate that these words are characterized more precisely when the two-dimensional approach is combined with multi-componential models. Specifically, our analyses revealed that feeling, interoception and valence are key features in accurately differentiating between emotion-label, emotion-laden, and neutral words.

Keywords: component process model; emotion-label words; emotion-laden words; feeling; interoception; random forest; valence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Feature projection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Word projection.
Figure A1
Figure A1
Example of a decision tree.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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