Emotional Connotation in Speech Perception: Semantic Associations in the General Lexicon DouglasA. Vakoch Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA Lee H. Wurm State University of New Yorkat Binghamton,USA Lexical access of emotion words has been shown to depend on three under- lying dimensions (Evaluation, Activity, and Potency). The importance of these dimensions of emotional connotation was assessed during on-line speech perception of words drawn from the general lexicon. Lexical deci- sion times were signi®cantly predicted by main effects of Evaluation and Potency, as well as by an Evaluation 3 Activity interaction and an Evalua- tion 3 Potency interaction. An evolutionary account is proposed to explain the differential processing of w ords in the general and affective lexica. Whereas the affective lexicon seems to be structured to avoid threats to the individual, the general lexicon appears to be designed for obtaining scarce but valuable resources. INTRODUCTION From an evolutionary perspective, organisms gather information for one purpose: To help them survive. There are two basic ways that information can serve this function. First, information can help the organism gain desirable resources. Central to Darwin’s (1859/1968) theory of evolution is the Malthusian principle that organisms are in competition for scarce resources. This competition can either be between conspeci®cs or between COGNITION AND EMOTION, 1997, 11 (4), 337±349 Requests for reprints should be sent to Douglas A. Vakoch, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA; e-mail: VAKOCHDA@ ctrvax.vanderbilt.edu. A portion of this work was presented at the 128th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, 2 December 1994, Austin, Texas. We would like to thank Arthur Samuel for allowing this project to be completed in his laboratory. We would also like to thank Annmarie Cano, Arthur Aron, and David Cross for their help with statistical analyses, and Marilyn McCabe for discussions about emotion. Ó1997 Psychology Press, an imprint of Erlbaum (UK) Taylor & Francis Ltd.