The Influence Of The Types And Sizes Of Simple Geometric Shape On The Subliminal Affective Priming Effect

Simple geometric shapes can not only promote the recognition of objects,but some specific shapes often convey specified emotional meanings.Up to now,the view of the inverted triangle has a negative meaning,and the circle has a positive significance is basically reach a consensus.However,it is necessary to further explore whether the emotional meaning of simple geometry shapes can be automatically activated on the unconscious level.Based on previous studies,we used the subliminal affective priming paradigm to explore whether the emotional meaning of simple geometric shapes can be automatically activated on the unconscious level,and discussed the influence of shape size on the subliminal emotion priming effect.The purpose of the experiment1 is to explore the influence of different shapes subliminally on the judgement of the valence of emotional faces.34 college students were randomly selected,and it is a 2(shape: circle / reverse triangle)×2(expression: fear / happiness)within-subject design.The dependent variables are the correct rates and response time of the subjects to judge the target stimulus valences.The experimental1 results show that when the priming stimulus was circle,the response of pleasant expression was significantly faster than the fear expression,but when the priming stimulation was inverted triangle,there was no significant difference in the response of the pleasant expression and the fear expression.The purpose of experiment2 is based on the experiment1,to further explore whether the emotional meaning of simple geometry can be automatically activated on the unconscious level,and we also discuss the influence of shape size on the transmission of emotional information.In the experiment,35 college students were randomly selected,and it is a 2(size 80/120)× 2(shape type: circle / reverse triangle)×2(target word valence: positive words / negative words)within-subject design.The dependent variables are the correct rates and response time of the subjects to judge the target stimulus valences.The experimental2 results show that when the priming stimulus was circle,the correct rate of the positive word was significantly higher than the correct rate of the passive word,and the response of positive word was significantly faster than the passive word;when the priming stimulus was reverse triangle,the correct rate of the passive word was significantly higher than the correct rate of the positive word,and the response of passive word was significantly faster than the positive word.When priming stimulus was consistent with the target stimulus(reverse triangle-passive word;circle-positive word),participants reactions to the shape size of 120 was always significantly faster than the shape size of 80,the correct rate of the shape size of 120 was also significantly higher than the shape size of 80.Under the conditions of this study,the conclusions are as follows:(1)The emotional meanings of circles and inverted triangles can be automatically activated on the unconscious level;(2)Under the condition of circular subliminal priming,individuals can promote the processing of positive emotions and prevent the processing of negative emotions;under the condition of triangle subliminal priming,they can promote individual’s processing of negative emotions and prevent the processing of positive emotions;(3)The size of the shape can affect the intensity of the emotional information,and when shape is larger,the more emotional information is transmitted.