ABSTRACT

Unbalanced bilinguals react differently to emotional stimuli in their first (L1) and second (L2) language. However, the size and direction of the emotion difference varies across emotions and tasks, so that its causes are controversial. Therefore, we investigated if the attentional resources bilinguals allocate to emotion processing moderate their language-dependent emotions. In two experiments, we crossed language and emotion regulation. Study 1 compared effects of distraction and concentration on bilingual emotion-word valence ratings. Study 2 induced positive emotion-focused rumination (or not) prior to a simulated, video-based online-dating activity. It measured emotional attraction to dating candidates speaking the participant’s L1 or L2 in pupillary, eye-fixation and self-report responses. The studies found reduced L2 emotions when emotion processing was distracted or when its level was low to start with. Yet, if bilinguals concentrated or had ruminated on their emotions, their self-reported and physiological emotionality was comparable or even stronger in L2, relative to L1. The findings suggest that bilinguals’ language-dependent emotions vary with differential language-processing automaticity. We propose that the observed emotion-regulation moderation generates further testable predictions about where and when language choice is relevant for bilinguals’ emotions.

摘要

不平衡的双语者对第一 (L1) 和第二 (L2) 语言的情绪刺激有不同的反应。然而，情绪差异的大小和方向因情绪和任务而异，因此其原因存在争议。因此，我们调查了双语者分配给情绪处理的注意力资源是否能调节他们依赖语言的情绪。在两个实验中，我们跨越了语言和情绪调节。研究 1 比较了注意力分散和注意力集中对双语情绪词效价评分的影响。研究 2 在模拟的、基于视频的在线约会活动之前引发了以情绪为中心的积极思考（或不）。它测量了约会候选人在瞳孔、注视和自我报告反应中说参与者的 L1 或 L2 的情感吸引力。研究发现，当情绪处理分心或开始时其水平较低时，L2 情绪会降低。然而，如果双语者专注于或反思他们的情绪，他们的自我报告和生理情绪在 L2 中与 L1 相当甚至更强。研究结果表明，双语者的语言依赖情绪因不同的语言处理自动化程度而异。我们建议观察到的情绪调节调节会产生关于语言选择何时何地与双语者的情绪相关的进一步可测试的预测。研究结果表明，双语者的语言依赖情绪因不同的语言处理自动化程度而异。我们建议观察到的情绪调节调节会产生关于语言选择何时何地与双语者的情绪相关的进一步可测试的预测。研究结果表明，双语者的语言依赖情绪因不同的语言处理自动化程度而异。我们建议观察到的情绪调节调节会产生关于语言选择何时何地与双语者的情绪相关的进一步可测试的预测。