Hemispheric differences in the processing of attachment words

Abstract

Inconsistent findings regarding the valence hypothesis might relate to ambiguously valenced stimuli used in some studies. To account for this potential caveat, we used positive and negative attachment words. A total of 50 participants made lexical decisions in a bilateral simultaneous presentation paradigm. Results showed a general right-visual-field advantage for lexical decisions and a general superiority for positive over negative words. Crucially, we found a left-visual-field advantage for positive over negative words. Results oppose the valence hypothesis, but support a specific role of the right hemisphere in emotional processing, in particular when dealing with positive interpersonal relationship information.

The authors would like to thank Stephanie Eastwood and Clare Macrae for their assistance in collecting data. This work was partially supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC; No. 062–23–0052).

Notes

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