Abstract
Though previous research has shown a decreased sensitivity to emotionally-laden linguistic stimuli presented in the non-native (L2) compared to the native language (L1), studies conducted thus far have not examined how different modalities influence bilingual emotional language processing. The present experiment was therefore aimed at investigating how late proficient Polish (L1)–English (L2) bilinguals process emotionally-laden narratives presented in L1 and L2, in the visual and auditory modality. To this aim, we employed the galvanic skin response (GSR) method and a self-report measure (Polish adaptation of the PANAS questionnaire). The GSR findings showed a reduced galvanic skin response to L2 relative to L1, thus suggesting a decreased reactivity to emotional stimuli in L2. Additionally, we observed a more pronounced skin conductance level to visual than auditory stimuli, yet only in L1, which might be accounted for by a self-reference effect that may have been modulated by both language and modality.
Highlights
The analysis performed on the self-ratings obtained from the SUPIN questionnaires was based on values for all negatively-valenced adjectives (N = 15), such as przygnebiony (Eng. sad), zmartwiony (Eng. upset)
Pairwise comparison further revealed that the experimental conditions (M = 6.08, SE = .67) elicited a more pronounced skin conductance response compared to the control texts (M = 3.27, SE = .43), p < .001, and the control texts evoked more robust galvanic skin response (GSR) than the resting state (M = 2.33, SE = .44), p =
The present experiment was aimed at elucidating the role of modality in emotional language processing in the native and non-native language
Summary
Previous studies into bilingual emotional language processing have repeatedly pointed to a decreased sensitivity to emotionally-laden stimuli presented in the non-native (L2) relative to the native (L1) tongue (Harris 2004; Caldwell-Harris and Ayçiçegi-Dinn 2009; Opitz and Degner 2012; Pavlenko 2012; Caldwell-Harris 2014; Costa et al 2014; Chen et al 2015; Hsu et al 2015). This is in line with the assumption that early language development occurs at the same time as the development of emotional regulation systems (Bloom and Beckwith 1989), as a result of which early-acquired lexical items might become more tightly connected with the emotional system of the brain (Caldwell-Harris 2014)
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