Abstract
Introduction/aimSeveral studies have shown that the effects of word emotionality on its processing depend on both its valence and its arousal. Such effects also varied with age. However, in French, there is no norm providing both valence and arousal estimates for words not directly referring to an emotion. That was the aim of this study. Moreover, the base of word emotionality according to age (EMA) we propose here provides categorization for each word in basic emotional subcategories. MethodIn total, 1286 French words were evaluated on line on both emotional valence and arousal by 1017 adults from 18 to 82 years old. Moreover, each word judged as negative or positive was attributed to a category (joy, surprise, anger, disgust, fear or sadness). ResultsThe data showed (1) a quadratic relationship between valence and arousal, maintained across age groups, even if its strength decreased with aging; (2) age-related variations of both valence and arousal estimates; and (3) a modification of valence and arousal evaluations according to affiliation to basic emotional subcategories. ConclusionThe EMA base provides a new tool for studies using emotional words in adulthood, especially for those investigating cognitive functioning in aging or in a specific age group.
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