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PSY 101L

Reaction Time to Neutral and Emotional Words

Report on Lab work -1

Submitted by

Sami Un Bashir
1831301630
Section: 03

Submitted to

Dr. Shamim F. Karim (SFK)

Department of History and Philosophy
North South University
Table of Contents
Abstract.............................................................................................................................2
Introduction.......................................................................................................................3
Neutral words....................................................................................................................4
Emotional words................................................................................................................4
Reaction time.....................................................................................................................5
Purpose.............................................................................................................................6
Variables............................................................................................................................6
Hypothesis.........................................................................................................................6
Design...............................................................................................................................7
Materials...........................................................................................................................7
Methodology......................................................................................................................8
Results...............................................................................................................................9
Verdict...............................................................................................................................9
Conclusion......................................................................................................................10
APPENDIX.....................................................................................................................11
Abstract
The objective of this experiment is to determine the difference in reaction time
between emotion and neutral words. For this test, an adult male (22 years old)
participant was chosen. The participant was instructed to tell a word that
appears in his mind immediately after the experimenter read aloud 30 terms. 15
of which were neutral words and the rest of the 15 were emotional words. The
participant was required to answer words which do not possess the opposite
meaning of the given word. In this experiment, the dependent variable (DV) is
the reaction time and the independent variable (IV) was the 30 words. The
hypothesis states “The reaction time to emotional words will be longer than to
neutral words. After calculating the average reaction time of both variations
(Neutral and Emotional words), we are glad to report that our findings support
the hypothesis.
Introduction
Understanding the intricacies of human cognitive processes is a fascinating
endeavor that has captivated researchers for decades. One aspect of cognitive
function that has garnered considerable attention is reaction time, a measure that
provides valuable insights into the speed at which individuals process
information. The relationship between emotional stimuli and cognitive
performance has been a topic of particular interest, as emotions play a crucial
role in shaping our perceptions and influencing our decision-making.

This experiment explores the complex relationship between language cues and
cognitive response by examining the effects of neutral and emotional words on
reaction times. We aim to investigate if the emotional content of words can
influence the rate at which information is processed cognitively by giving
participants a list of words divided into groups that are either emotional or
neutral.

The investigation of reaction times to neutral and emotional words has wide-
ranging implications, from helping to comprehend the basic workings of
cognition to offering prospects for use in domains including psychology,
advertising, and human-computer interaction. We hope to provide light on the
complex interplay between language, emotion, and how quickly our minds
process and react to information as we proceed with this project.
Neutral words

Vocabulary and language that lack strong emotional overtones or sentiments are
referred to as neutral terms. These words are commonly used objectively,
factually, or matter-of-factly; they rarely arouse strong emotions, either
favorable or negative. In order to facilitate more fair and balanced
communication, neutral words are defined as having no emotional weight or
prejudice.

Emotional words

Words with a high emotional impact that are likely to elicit particular
sentiments, reactions, or behaviors from others are referred to as emotive words.
Feelings like happiness, sadness, rage, fear, love, enthusiasm, and more are all
present in these words. Emotional words are strong tools in a variety of
contexts, from poetry and literature to ordinary discussions and marketing, since
they have a substantial impact on the tone and mood of communication.
Reaction time

The amount of time it takes for a person to comprehend and react to a word or
stimulus that is provided is referred to as their reaction time to words. This test
is frequently used in cognitive and psychological studies to determine how
quickly the human mind can identify and respond to various stimuli, such as
neutral or words with variable emotional content.

Participants' job is to react as fast as they can to a succession of words or stimuli

that are displayed on a screen during the process. This response time is the
duration of time that passes between the stimulus presentation and the person's
response, which is frequently a button press or a certain gesture.

To learn more about cognitive functions including perception, attention, and

decision-making, researchers examine reaction times. Researchers can learn
more about how the brain processes information differently depending on the
emotional content of a word by observing how quickly people react to neutral
and emotionally charged words. Because emotional material is more salient,
using words with strong emotional connotations may cause faster reactions,
affecting both cognitive and neurological processes.

Reaction time studies are a popular tool for examining many facets of cognitive
function in domains like psychology, neurology, and human-computer
interaction. They offer important insights into the complex mechanisms of the
human mind.
Purpose
The purpose of this experiment is to determine the difference in reaction time

between emotion and neutral words.

Variables

For this test, we used two variables:

Independent Variable: 30 words, 15 - neutral words, 15 - emotional words.

Dependent variable: Reaction time

Hypothesis
The reaction time to emotional words would be greater than the reaction time to

neutral words.
Design
The test was designed to achieve repeated outcome. The 30 variables were

chosen and were scattered in the list with no definite order. The reaction time

was recorded on a smartphone using clock app. The stopwatch started the

moment the words were read aloud by the experimenter and the stopwatch is

paused when the reaction occurred and the response time was noted down

beside each word on the list.

Materials
 Instructions (Appendix 01)

 Participant’s informed consent (Appendix 02)

 A list containing 30 words- 15 emotional and 15 neutral words, response

word and reaction time (Appendix 03)

 Smartphone for calculating reaction time.

Methodology

Here are the procedures taken to conduct this experiment:

1. The participant was brought into the psychology lab.
2. The participant was instructed properly via the instruction handout
(Appendix 01) and was also verbally instructed to reduce any error.
3. The participant was then required to sign the participant’s informed
consent (Appendix 02)
4. The participant was instructed to react to each word that was read to him
aloud from the list (Appendix 03) and reaction time was recorded on a
smartphone using clock app. The stopwatch started the moment the words
were read aloud by the experimenter and the stopwatch is paused when
the reaction occurred and the response time was noted down beside each
word on the list.
5. Now, the average reaction time was calculated via dividing the total
response time of each category of word by the total number of each
category of word. (15 emotional and 15 neutral)
6. The feedback of the participant was received (Appendix 04) and the
calculations were displayed on the calculation sheet (Appendix 05)
Results
Type of words Total reaction time Number of words Average reaction time

Neutral words 61.73 seconds 15 4.1153seconds

Emotional words 63.73 seconds 14 4.55 seconds

Table: 01

[Disclaimer: The word number 08; Joy (Emotional) was not considered into
the calculation as per our instructor advice as the response was more than
one word.]

For neutral words:

 The total reaction time for the 15 neutral words is – 61.73 seconds
 The total number of words- 15
 Average reaction time- 61.73/15= 4.1153 seconds

For emotional words:

 The total reaction time for the 14 emotional words is – 63.73 seconds
 The total number of words- 14
 Average reaction time- 63.73/14= 4.55 seconds

Verdict
The average reaction time of emotional word (4.55 seconds) is greater than the
average reaction time of neutral word (4.11 seconds). Therefore, we can safely
state that our test findings align with our hypothesis and clearly supports
our hypothesis which is the reaction time to emotional words would be
greater than the reaction time to neutral words.
 Conclusion
In summary, the pattern in reaction time that has been seen, wherein emotional

words elicit larger reactions than neutral ones, highlights the significant impact

of emotional content on cognitive functions. This effect is consistent with the

idea that stimuli that are emotionally charged cause responses to be more rapid

and prominent, which is indicative of the complex interaction between

language, emotion, and cognitive processes.

The faster response time to emotionally charged words implies that these inputs

have a special and powerful influence over our cognitive machinery, triggering

quick and frequently unconscious processes that mold our thoughts and

behaviors. This discovery advances our knowledge of how the human mind

sorts and arranges information that has emotional resonance.

APPENDIX