Jeanette Altarriba
Biographic Data
| ID | 912523 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jeanette Altarriba |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jeanette |
| FAMILY NAME | Altarriba |
| SIGNATURE | ALTARRIBA J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Albany State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-9510-101X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 45 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 88 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 44 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1993 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Special issue on cognitive processing in bilinguals (30 years later)
Multilingualism and Memory
The current entry discusses applied memory research with multilingual and bilingual populations: emotion memory, interpretation, autobiographical memory, false memory, and aging. Key findings highlight the importance of language experience in these areas, notably participants’ age of acquisition, proficiency and dominance, and preferences for each of their languages. Experiential factors including their country of birth, immigration experiences, …
Similar, not universal
) in English and in Polish. Measures of concreteness, imageability and context availability were collected and analysed across the six semantic categories of basic emotions, across different parts of speech and between the self-determined genders of the study participants. The initial results indicate that within these cognitive dimensions the conceptualisations of basic emotions in English and in Polish are only similar on the more general but n…
Differential emotional expression in autobiographical narratives
Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to examine how bilinguals express their emotions in their first language (L1) versus their second language (L2) in autobiographical narratives. Methodology: A total of 64 Egyptian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) took an English language proficiency test, and wrote about the happiest or saddest experiences they recalled in Arabic and in English. Data and Analysis: The narratives were analysed f…
Gender assignment to English noun insertions in New York Dominican Spanish
The current study explores which factors condition gender assignment to English noun insertions in New York Dominican Spanish and compares these results with previous studies on gender assignment to English noun insertions in Spanish. We find that while the gender of the referent, the analogical gender of the English noun, and homophony with a Spanish noun play significant roles in the gender assignment process, the phonological gender of the nou…
How Do Foreign Language Learners Process L2 Emotion Words in Silent Reading? An Eye-Tracking Study
The current study aimed to examine the processing of emotion words in L2 silent reading. We conducted two experiments in which Arab learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) read short English sentences in which target words were embedded. The participants' eye movements were recorded and analyzed. The results of Experiment 1, which compared the processing of emotionally positive versus neutral words by 44 participants, did not reveal any s…
Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft / Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science [HSK] 46/1
The Handbook consists of four major sections. Each section is introduced by a main article: Theories of Emotion – General Aspects Perspectives in Communication Theory, Semiotics, and Linguistics Perspectives on Language and Emotion in Cultural Studies Interdisciplinary and Applied Perspectives The first section presents interdisciplinary emotion theories relevant for the field of language and communication research, including the history of emoti…
Language and Emotion. Volume 1
Multiple producible cues do not aid face-name memory
Are there effective mechanisms that can be used to remember someone's name? The production effect is a phenomenon that exemplifies memory's robust benefit for studied words or phrases that have been spoken out loud, as opposed to only hearing or seeing them. However, this robust effect has not yet been identified for face-name pairings. The present study seeks to examine the boundary conditions of the production effect in face-name pairings by in…
Adaptive memory
Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: In this study, we examined memory performance in a bilingual population, in an effort to compare depth of processing and complexity across first and second languages. Design/methodology/approach: Complexity was investigated with a pleasantness rating task and an elaborative encoding, scenario-based rating task (i.e. rating words for their survival-relevance). Previous research found word recall larg…
The Psychology of Communication
Human behavior is often guided by the development and use of language as a means of communication and as a way to represent thoughts and knowledge. Notions of linguistic relativity and the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis indicate that language plays a role in structuring the worldview and perceptions of individuals. The current work will explore how those perceptions are not only guided by language but are also moderated by culture and the beliefs, mores,…
Emotion Processing in a Highly Proficient Multilingual Sub-Saharan African Population
Research using traditional experimental paradigms (e.g., Priming, Stroop and Simon tasks), narratives and interview type data have revealed that bilingual speakers process and express emotion differently in their two languages. In the current study, both a qualitative and quantitative approach were taken to investigate how individuals who know and regularly use several languages process emotion in each of their languages. In Experiment 1, emotion…
Bilingualism, Culture, and Executive Functions
The relationship between executive functions (EF) and bilingualism has dominated debate in the field. This debate was characterised by optimism for a bilingual advantage until the last decade, when a steady stream of articles reported failure to find a consistently positive effect for bilingualism. In addition to addressing concerns about study quality, this turn of events has spurred research into other variables that may explain the conflicting…
Independent effects of word concreteness and word valence on immediate serial recall
The present study examined the roles of word concreteness and word valence in the immediate serial recall task. Emotion words (e.g. happy) were used to investigate these effects. Participants completed study-test trials with 7-item study lists consisting of positive or negative words with either high or low concreteness (Experiments 1 and 2) and neutral (i.e. non-emotion) words with either high or low concreteness (Experiment 2). In serial recall…
Revisiting Mednick’s (1962) Theory of Creativity with a Composite Measure of Creativity
S.A. Mednick (1962) proposed a theory of creativity suggesting that highly creative individuals can produce more word associations to a stimulus than less creative individuals. Numerous studies have supported this theory using the Remote Associates Test (RAT) as the measure of creativity. Additionally, some studies have suggested that high‐frequency words elicit more word associations overall than low‐frequency words, and concrete words elicit mo…
Recall of Cheaters
Translation ambiguity in Mandarin-English bilinguals
Research focused on the cognitive processes surrounding bilingual language representation has revealed the important role that translation ambiguity plays in how languages are stored in memory ( Tokowicz & Kroll, 2007 ). In addition, translation of emotionally related information has been shown to be challenging because a direct translation does not always exist ( Basnight-Brown & Altarriba, 2014 ). The focus of the current study was to explore t…
Is it possible to predict which bilingual speakers have switched language dominance? A discriminant analysis
Linguistic research on bilinguals has sometimes focused on either first vs. second acquired language or dominant vs. non-dominant language despite situations in which the dominant and first language are no longer the same. Many bilinguals in the U.S. and other countries experience a change in language dominance from a home language to a majority language. The present study examined language history data from young Spanish-English bilingual adults…
Attention and Perception
How do Emotion Word Type and Valence Influence Language Processing? The Case of Arabic-English Bilinguals
Selective Attunement to Adaptive Problems
Predators as Attention-Grabbing
The Distinctiveness of Emotion Words
Effects of Valence on Hemispheric Specialization for Emotion Word Processing
The use of emotion in language is a key element of human interactions and a rich area for cognitive research. The present study examined reactions to words of five types: positive emotion (e.g., happiness), negative emotion (e.g., hatred), positive emotion-laden (e.g., blessing), negative emotion-laden (e.g., prison), and neutral (e.g., chance). Words and nonwords were intermixed in a lexical decision task using hemifield presentation. Results re…
Emotion Word Type and Affective Valence Priming at a Long Stimulus Onset Asynchrony
As the division between emotion and emotion-laden words has been viewed as controversial by, for example, Kousta and colleagues, the current study attempted a replication and extension of findings previously described by Kazanas and Altarriba. In their findings, Kazanas and Altarriba reported significant differences in response times (RTs) and priming effects between emotion and emotion-laden words, with faster RTs and larger priming effects with…
Current perspectives on using linguistic and cultural factors in counseling the Hispanic client
Emotion Word Processing
Emotion Word Type and Affective Valence Priming at a Long Stimulus Onset Asynchrony
As the division between emotion and emotion-laden words has been viewed as controversial by, for example, Kousta and colleagues, the current study attempted a replication and extension of findings previously described by Kazanas and Altarriba. In their findings, Kazanas and Altarriba reported significant differences in response times (RTs) and priming effects between emotion and emotion-laden words, with faster RTs and larger priming effects with…
The Influence of Emotional Arousal on Affective Priming in Monolingual and Bilingual Speakers
The activation of arousal components for emotion-laden words in English (e.g. kiss, death) was examined in two groups of participants: English monolinguals and Spanish—English bilinguals. In Experiment 1, emotion-laden words were rated on valence and perceived arousal. These norms were used to construct prime—target word pairs that were used in Experiment 2. Monolingual and bilingual participants performed lexical decisions to English word target…
Effects of Valence on Hemispheric Specialization for Emotion Word Processing
The use of emotion in language is a key element of human interactions and a rich area for cognitive research. The present study examined reactions to words of five types: positive emotion (e.g., happiness), negative emotion (e.g., hatred), positive emotion-laden (e.g., blessing), negative emotion-laden (e.g., prison), and neutral (e.g., chance). Words and nonwords were intermixed in a lexical decision task using hemifield presentation. Results re…
Evidence Against Linguistic Relativity in Chinese and English
To talk about time, English speakers often use horizontal spatial metaphors whereas Chinese speakers use both vertical and horizontal spatial metaphors. Boroditsky (2001) showed that while Chinese-English bilinguals were faster to verify a temporal target like June comes earlier than August after they had seen a vertical spatial prime rather than a horizontal spatial prime, English monolinguals showed the reverse pattern, thus supporting the ling…
The Distinctiveness of Emotion Words
Multiple Translations in Bilingual Memory
Emotion Processing in a Highly Proficient Multilingual Sub-Saharan African Population
Research using traditional experimental paradigms (e.g., Priming, Stroop and Simon tasks), narratives and interview type data have revealed that bilingual speakers process and express emotion differently in their two languages. In the current study, both a qualitative and quantitative approach were taken to investigate how individuals who know and regularly use several languages process emotion in each of their languages. In Experiment 1, emotion…
Is it possible to predict which bilingual speakers have switched language dominance? A discriminant analysis
Linguistic research on bilinguals has sometimes focused on either first vs. second acquired language or dominant vs. non-dominant language despite situations in which the dominant and first language are no longer the same. Many bilinguals in the U.S. and other countries experience a change in language dominance from a home language to a majority language. The present study examined language history data from young Spanish-English bilingual adults…
How do Emotion Word Type and Valence Influence Language Processing? The Case of Arabic-English Bilinguals
How Do Foreign Language Learners Process L2 Emotion Words in Silent Reading? An Eye-Tracking Study
The current study aimed to examine the processing of emotion words in L2 silent reading. We conducted two experiments in which Arab learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) read short English sentences in which target words were embedded. The participants' eye movements were recorded and analyzed. The results of Experiment 1, which compared the processing of emotionally positive versus neutral words by 44 participants, did not reveal any s…
Bilingualism, Culture, and Executive Functions
The relationship between executive functions (EF) and bilingualism has dominated debate in the field. This debate was characterised by optimism for a bilingual advantage until the last decade, when a steady stream of articles reported failure to find a consistently positive effect for bilingualism. In addition to addressing concerns about study quality, this turn of events has spurred research into other variables that may explain the conflicting…
Independent effects of word concreteness and word valence on immediate serial recall
The present study examined the roles of word concreteness and word valence in the immediate serial recall task. Emotion words (e.g. happy) were used to investigate these effects. Participants completed study-test trials with 7-item study lists consisting of positive or negative words with either high or low concreteness (Experiments 1 and 2) and neutral (i.e. non-emotion) words with either high or low concreteness (Experiment 2). In serial recall…
Mental Juggling
The present study investigated the conditions under which multitasking impairs reading comprehension. Participants read prose passages (the primary task), some of which required them to perform a secondary task. In Experiment 1, we compared two different types of secondary tasks (answering trivia questions and solving math problems). Reading comprehension was assessed using a multiple-choice test that measured both factual and conceptual knowledg…
Cognition and culture
Current perspectives on using linguistic and cultural factors in counseling the Hispanic client
Concreteness, context availability, and imageability ratings and word associations for abstract, concrete, and emotion words
Bilingual Language Mixing
Bilingual speakers often code-switch from one language to another, especially when both languages are used in the environment. This article explores the potential theoretical explanations for this language behavior, the costs and benefits associated with language switching, and the role of language dominance in the direction of the switch. In short, code switching follows functional and grammatical principles and is a complex, rule-governed pheno…
Bilingualism
Bilingualism, or the knowledge of more than one language, is quite prevalent throughout the world. However, much of the cognitive literature that exists on language processing and memory retrieval has included participants who are monolingual speakers. The current chapter introduces the ways in which bilingualism has been investigated in the areas of autobiographical memory, memory recall, and communication in applied settings. The notion of code…
Does cariño equal “liking”
A new methodological approach to understanding the mental representation of concepts and words that represent them in the first language of bilinguals was investigated. Spanish-English bilinguals were asked to rate Spanish words on one of three dimensions: concreteness, imageability, or context-availability. Three categories of words were investigated: concrete, abstract, and emotion. Findings paralleled those reportedby Altarriba, Bauer, and Ben…
Emotion Representation and Perception Across Cultures
Are emotion words or emotion categories universal, or are particular emotions and emotion categories specific to certain cultures? The current review explores the answer to this question by summarizing the limited number of studies that have addressed this issue. The representation of emotion is discussed with regards to verbal and nonverbal (facial) processing, in turn. The evidence indicates that the answer is often conflicting and that issues …
The Influence of Emotional Arousal on Affective Priming in Monolingual and Bilingual Speakers
The activation of arousal components for emotion-laden words in English (e.g. kiss, death) was examined in two groups of participants: English monolinguals and Spanish—English bilinguals. In Experiment 1, emotion-laden words were rated on valence and perceived arousal. These norms were used to construct prime—target word pairs that were used in Experiment 2. Monolingual and bilingual participants performed lexical decisions to English word target…
The automatic access of emotion
The emotional Stroop task provides an experimental measure of selective attention to emotional information. In the current study, the emotional Stroop effect was examined in a Spanish–English bilingual speaking population. The results revealed that the emotional Stroop effect is a robust phenomenon and replicable within a bilingual population. Furthermore, highly proficient bilinguals demonstrated equal interference effects in both their first la…
Evidence Against Linguistic Relativity in Chinese and English
To talk about time, English speakers often use horizontal spatial metaphors whereas Chinese speakers use both vertical and horizontal spatial metaphors. Boroditsky (2001) showed that while Chinese-English bilinguals were faster to verify a temporal target like June comes earlier than August after they had seen a vertical spatial prime rather than a horizontal spatial prime, English monolinguals showed the reverse pattern, thus supporting the ling…
Changing Conceptions and Uses of Computer Technologies in the Everyday
Changing Conceptions and Uses of Computer Technologies in the Everyday: This study focused on 189 sixth and seventh graders in two large suburban schools and their use of computer technologies as part of their everyday literacy practices. We were especially interested in the students’ conceptions of computer technologies and how computer use varied across grade and reading levels. Findings showed that many students, especially sixth graders, were…
Retracted
The present study examined the roles of word concreteness and word valence in the immediate serial recall task. Emotion words (e.g. happy ) were used to investigate these effects. Participants completed study‐test trials with seven‐item study lists consisting of positive or negative words with either high or low concreteness (Experiments 1 and 2) and neutral (i.e. non‐emotion) words with either high or low concreteness (Experiment 2). For neutral…
Priming and assimilation effects in the automatic activation of religious schema
The representation of emotion vs. emotion-laden words in English and Spanish in the Affective Simon Task
An Affective Simon Task was administered to English-speaking monolinguals and Spanish—English bilinguals, in order to assess the extent to which valence and emotionality are automatically processed when reading a word. Participants classified words in white on the basis of valence (positive or negative), or classified them on the basis of color (blue or green) via a key press. Words were either emotion words (e.g., happy; anxious) or emotion-lade…
Anxiety attenuates awareness of emotional faces during rapid serial visual presentation
Anxiety limits normative perception and impacts the interaction between key neurophysiological systems, possibly by decreasing recruitment of goal-oriented processes and increasing recruitment of stimulus-driven processes. Previous studies examining the impact of anxiety on emotion processing commonly lack a sample with levels of anxiety comparable to a clinical population. Many also fail to control for co-occurring symptoms like depression. The …
The acquisition of concrete, abstract, and emotion words in a second language
The purpose of the current work was to investigate whether wordtype moderates the learning of vocabulary words in a new language. English-speaking monolinguals were trained on a matched set of concrete (e.g., jewel), emotion (e.g., angry), and abstract (e.g., virtue) words in Spanish. Participants learned a set of Spanish words and then engaged in a Stroop color-word task where they determined the color in which the words appeared (none were rela…
Multilingualism and Memory
Research with multilinguals has highlighted the general memory advantages of knowing more than one language. For example, Schroeder and Marian have cited better executive functioning in bilinguals than monolinguals, and research in the medical field has found a buffering effect of multilingualism on memory loss in the elderly. Other research has emphasized the differences in memory capacity or memory effects in a native language (L1) versus a sec…
Mental Juggling
The present study investigated the conditions under which multitasking impairs reading comprehension. Participants read prose passages (the primary task), some of which required them to perform a secondary task. In Experiment 1, we compared two different types of secondary tasks (answering trivia questions and solving math problems). Reading comprehension was assessed using a multiple-choice test that measured both factual and conceptual knowledg…
Emotion Word Type and Affective Valence Priming at a Long Stimulus Onset Asynchrony
As the division between emotion and emotion-laden words has been viewed as controversial by, for example, Kousta and colleagues, the current study attempted a replication and extension of findings previously described by Kazanas and Altarriba. In their findings, Kazanas and Altarriba reported significant differences in response times (RTs) and priming effects between emotion and emotion-laden words, with faster RTs and larger priming effects with…
Emotion Word Processing
Multiple Translations in Bilingual Memory
Effects of Valence on Hemispheric Specialization for Emotion Word Processing
The use of emotion in language is a key element of human interactions and a rich area for cognitive research. The present study examined reactions to words of five types: positive emotion (e.g., happiness), negative emotion (e.g., hatred), positive emotion-laden (e.g., blessing), negative emotion-laden (e.g., prison), and neutral (e.g., chance). Words and nonwords were intermixed in a lexical decision task using hemifield presentation. Results re…
Selective Attunement to Adaptive Problems
Predators as Attention-Grabbing
The Distinctiveness of Emotion Words
Psychology (38 works) · Cognitive psychology (30 works) · Linguistics (30 works) · Cognition (24 works) · Computer Science (16 works) · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition (16 works) · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism (12 works) · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies (9 works) · Neuroscience of multilingualism (9 works) · Social Psychology (9 works)