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ERIC Number: EJ697694
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Mar
Pages: 4
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-2626
EISSN: N/A
An Examination of the Right-Hemisphere Hypothesis of the Lateralization of Emotion
Smith, S.D.; Bulman-Fleming, M.B.
Brain and Cognition, v57 n2 p210-213 Mar 2005
The Right-Hemisphere Hypothesis posits that emotional stimuli are perceived more efficiently by the right hemisphere than by the left hemisphere. The current research examines this hypothesis by examining hemispheric asymmetries for the conscious and unconscious perception of emotional stimuli. Negative, positive, and neutral words were presented for 17ms to one visual field or the other. Conscious perception was measured by using a subjective report-of-awareness measure reported by participants on each trial. Unconscious perception was measured using an ''exclusion task,'' a form of word-stem-completion task. Consistent with previous research, there was a right-hemisphere advantage for the conscious perception of negative information. As in previous studies, this advantage for conscious perception occurred at the expense of unconscious perception. Specifically, there was a right-hemisphere inferiority for the unconscious perception of negative information. Contrary to the predictions of the Right-Hemisphere Hypothesis, there were no hemispheric asymmetries for the perception of positive emotional information, thus suggesting that the Right-Hemisphere Hypothesis may not be applicable to all behavioral studies.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A