BRIEF REPORT Automatic semantic association between emotional valence and brightness in the right hemisphere Matia Okubo and Kenta Ishikawa Department of Psychology, Senshu University, Kanagawa, Japan Positive words (e.g., faith) were recognised better when presented in white fonts than in black fonts, whereas the opposite was true for negative words (e.g., enemy). A neural basis for this type of association between emotional valence and brightness was investigated using a visual half-field paradigm. Positive and negative words were presented in black or white fonts and presented to the left visual fieldright hemisphere (LVFRH) or right visual fieldleft hemisphere (RVFLH) in a word valence judgement task (i.e., positive vs. negative). A cross-over interaction between emotional valence and brightness was observed; valence judgements were facilitated when a positive word appeared in white and when a negative word appeared in black. This interaction was qualified by a higher-order interaction. The cross-over interaction appeared only for LVFRH trials, suggesting that the right hemisphere was responsible for the association between emotional valence and brightness. Keywords: Hemispheric asymmetries; Metaphor; Emotional valence; Brightness perception. People tend to view light colours as positive and dark colours as negative. For example, heroes in movies usually wear light-coloured clothing whereas villains usually wear dark outfits (e.g., Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader in Star Wars). According to Eliade (1996), white is the colour of joy, innocence, and purity whereas black has precisely the opposite connotation in Western cultures. Such associations between emotional valence and brightness may be universal, as Adams and Osgood (1973) demonstrated in a cross- cultural study consisting of comparisons across 20 countries. Meier, Robinson, and Clore (2004) examined this association using word valence judgements. In their experiments, valence judge- ments were facilitated when a positive word (e.g., faith) appeared in white as well as when a negative word (e.g., enemy) appeared in black, suggesting that emotional valence is strongly associated with brightness. In short, people automatically assume light colours to be positive while dark colours are assumed to be negative. Meier et al. (2004) argued that these automatic associations exist because abstract concepts (e.g., emotional valence) are Correspondence should be addressed to: Matia Okubo, Department of Psychology, Senshu University, 21-1 Higashimita, Tama-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa 2148580, Japan. E-mail: mokubo@psy.senshu-u.ac.jp This research was supported by a grant form MEXT, Japan (KAKENHI 20730482) to the first author. COGNITION AND EMOTION 2011, 25 (7), 12731280 1273 # 2011 Psychology Press, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business http://www.psypress.com/cogemotion http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2010.541658 Downloaded by [Senshu University] at 20:46 25 February 2014