Previous research indicates that negative emotions influence cognitive resource utilization during analogical reasoning. However, no research has yet demonstrated an influence of negative emotions on inference formation during analogical reasoning. For this reason, we used evoked response potentials to investigate how negatively valenced content affects inference formation during analogical reasoning. Participants generated inferences about the missing term of 256 four-term analogies consisting of a first pair (A is to B), a second incomplete pair (as C is to?), and a probe term (D). We manipulated the affective valence of the terms (negative/neutral) forming the first two pairs and the soundness of the analogies. In Experiment 1, the terms were words and the relations were semantic in nature. We recorded the N400 event-related component time-locked to the probe term. The effect of analogy soundness on N400 amplitude was weaker when both pairs of terms were negative than when one or both pairs were neutral. In Experiment 2, we used analogies with negatively or neutrally conditioned symbols as terms, and visuospatial transformations as relations. We recorded the P3b event-related component time-locked to the final term of the analogy. The effect of analogy soundness on P3b amplitude was weaker when the first pair of terms was negatively conditioned than when they were neutrally conditioned. Results of both experiments suggested that negatively valenced content impairs the formation of inferences during analogical reasoning, as indicated by reduced effects of analogy soundness on N400 and P3b in the presence of negatively valenced content.

以往的研究表明，在类比推理过程中，负面情绪会影响认知资源的利用。然而，还没有研究表明负面情绪对类比推理过程中的推理形成有影响。出于这个原因，我们使用诱发反应电位来研究负价内容如何影响类比推理过程中的推理形成。参与者对 256 个四项类比的缺失项进行推断，包括第一对（A 对 B）、第二对不完整对（如 C 对？）和探测项 (D)。我们操纵了形成前两对的术语（负面/中性）的情感效价和类比的合理性。在实验 1 中，术语是词，关系本质上是语义。我们记录了时间锁定到探测项的 N400 事件相关组件。当两对术语都为负时，类比健全度对 N400 振幅的影响比一对或两对都为中性时要弱。在实验 2 中，我们以负或中性条件符号作为术语，使用视觉空间变换作为关系进行类比。我们记录了时间锁定到类比的最后一项的 P3b 事件相关组件。当第一对术语为负条件时，类比稳健性对 P3b 振幅的影响比它们在中性条件下时要弱。两个实验的结果表明，在类比推理过程中，负价内容会损害推论的形成，