In a constructivist approach to emotions (e.g. Barret 2011; Russell 2009), Valence (V), i.e. an evaluation of how pleasant a stimulus is, and Arousal (A), i.e. an evaluation of how intense a stimulus is, are the two basic psychological properties that describe a primitive psychological state that plays a fundamental role in the construction of emotions. This basic level of affect is constantly influenced by environmental stimuli, among which language is of paramount importance. An important tool for research on the affective meaning of words has been provided by Warriner et al. (2013), who listed 13,915 words with their V and A evaluations along a 1-9 Likert scale. This dataset can be used to estimate the affective potential of texts and could thus contribute to shedding light on both their potential emotive effects and the emotional properties of particular text types. The paper demonstrates how texts from three sections of the UK newspaper The Guardian (Travel, Crime, and Film) form statistically discrete groups on the basis of the two basic affective parameters of Valence and Arousal. Affectively-charged keywords from each section are then extracted to elaborate and compare the affective profiles of the three sections. The areas of meaning that play an important role in constructing an appealing destination image in the Travel section are then identified. Finally, data from the Travel, Crime, and Film sections are shown to map differently onto the circumplex model of affect (Posner et al. 2005; Russell 1980; Yik et al. 2011), therefore contributing to the identification of the prevailing emotional patterns at work in these sub-registers.

Affect in the language of travel journalism / Pinna, Antonio. - (2018).

Affect in the language of travel journalism

Pinna, Antonio
2018-01-01

Abstract

In a constructivist approach to emotions (e.g. Barret 2011; Russell 2009), Valence (V), i.e. an evaluation of how pleasant a stimulus is, and Arousal (A), i.e. an evaluation of how intense a stimulus is, are the two basic psychological properties that describe a primitive psychological state that plays a fundamental role in the construction of emotions. This basic level of affect is constantly influenced by environmental stimuli, among which language is of paramount importance. An important tool for research on the affective meaning of words has been provided by Warriner et al. (2013), who listed 13,915 words with their V and A evaluations along a 1-9 Likert scale. This dataset can be used to estimate the affective potential of texts and could thus contribute to shedding light on both their potential emotive effects and the emotional properties of particular text types. The paper demonstrates how texts from three sections of the UK newspaper The Guardian (Travel, Crime, and Film) form statistically discrete groups on the basis of the two basic affective parameters of Valence and Arousal. Affectively-charged keywords from each section are then extracted to elaborate and compare the affective profiles of the three sections. The areas of meaning that play an important role in constructing an appealing destination image in the Travel section are then identified. Finally, data from the Travel, Crime, and Film sections are shown to map differently onto the circumplex model of affect (Posner et al. 2005; Russell 1980; Yik et al. 2011), therefore contributing to the identification of the prevailing emotional patterns at work in these sub-registers.
2018
978-3-0343-3402-0
Affect in the language of travel journalism / Pinna, Antonio. - (2018).
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11388/219634
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