Lee H. Wurm
Douglas A. Vakoch
Dept. of Psychol., State Univ. of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500
Past research indicates that the lexical access of emotion words is influenced by the dimensions of evaluation and activity. Increased reaction time to a lexical decision task using emotion words and nonwords was predicted by low loadings on evaluation and activity as determined by ratings on semantic differential scales [L. H. Wurm and D. A. Vakoch, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 95, 2974 (1994)]. The current study examines the extent to which evaluation, activity, and potency influence lexical access of words more representative of the entire lexicon [C. E. Osgood, J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 12, 194--199 (1969)]. Implications for a dimensional model of the structure of the lexicon are discussed.