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Open access
Date
2012Type
- Journal Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
We show that the frequency of word use is not only determined by the word length [1] and the average information content [2], but also by its emotional content. We have analyzed three established lexica of affective word usage in English, German, and Spanish, to verify that these lexica have a neutral, unbiased, emotional content. Taking into account the frequency of word usage, we find that words with a positive emotional content are more frequently used. This lends support to Pollyanna hypothesis [3] that there should be a positive bias in human expression. We also find that negative words contain more information than positive words, as the informativeness of a word increases uniformly with its valence decrease. Our findings support earlier conjectures about (i) the relation between word frequency and information content, and (ii) the impact of positive emotions on communication and social links. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000061684Publication status
publishedExternal links
Journal / series
EPJ Data ScienceVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
SpringerSubject
Information content; Positive emotions; Word frequency; Word length; Emotional contentOrganisational unit
03682 - Schweitzer, Frank / Schweitzer, Frank
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ETH Bibliography
yes
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