Looking through rose-colored glasses - Variations in affectivity and language competence: Effects on processing and verbalization of figurative and non-figurative expressions for internal states

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Christina Kauschke
• Subject Area: Applied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics
• Term: from 2017 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 372577294

Language and emotion are in constant interaction: on the one hand, language plays an important role in the conceptualization and regulation of emotions. On the other hand, emotional states influence how language is processed and used. Following the first funding period, we aim at investigating how variations in affective states and language competence affect the figurative and non-figurative verbalization of emotions and other internal states. We understand emotion and language competence as dimensions on which clinical disorders (psychiatric disorders like depression or mania as well as language disorders) fill the edges of the spectrum. How emotional and language factors influence figurative language processing and production is the focus of this renewal proposal, which is organized in three work packages:1) The fMRI testing that had to be interrupted unexpectedly due to the corona pandemic in the first funding period will be continued and completed. In addition to the imaging technique, we plan to use a time-sensitive neuroscientific method (EEG) to investigate the temporal characteristics of the neural metaphor processing of patients with depression. Our results promise additional information about the temporal and spatial neural representation of figurative language as well as the impact of depression on these processes.2) Using behavioral methods (analysis of reaction times and elicited speech when retelling short videos), a heterogeneous sample will be tested regarding their processing and production of metaphors for internal states. The experiments are accompanied by a broad compilation of test instruments to collect data about individual differences in cognitive, affective, and language competences. We expect to gain information on the effects of interindividual variation on metaphor processing and verbalization of internal states. 3) Furthermore, a continuous, systematic extension of our metaphor database, which was built and made publicly available during the first funding period, is planned. The relevant affective and psycholinguistic variables for the linguistic stimuli will be collected via broadly conceived online-ratings.Based on our experiences with corona-induced difficulties with data collection, our work schedule is designed so that alternatives in form of online-experiments are available. In a long-term perspective, the results of the project can be transferred to clinical contexts as well as support communication about mental states to make affective disorders a topic within public discourse and counter stigmatization.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants