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Обзор современных баз данных с оценками эмоциональной окраски слов
Information on the emotional characteristics of words is widely used in contemporary re-search on emotional stimulus processing, as well as in linguistic and psycho-linguistic studies. Since the parameters of the emotional valence of words constitute subjective linguistic charac-teristics and therefore require dedicated empirical studies, some researchers have focused on developing databases containing information on the emotional properties of large numbers of words. To date, numerous such databases have been created for different languages, and the data they provide are often used uncritically, without sufficient consideration of the methods employed for data collection, the substantive meaning of the ratings, and related issues. In this context, a critical synthesis of the key aspects involved in the development of such databases appears highly relevant. The aim of the present study is to provide an overview of psycho-linguistic tools containing information on the emotional parameters of words and to conduct a critical analysis of the information they contain from both theoretical and methodological perspectives. The article reviews the major contemporary databases containing ratings of the emotional parameters of words, describes which emotional parameters they include and why, examines how methodological issues are addressed during data collection, and outlines the challenges that users of such databases may encounter. In addition, the paper provides, for the first time, the most comprehensive overview to date of Russian-language databases and word lists containing emotional parameters. Particular attention is devoted to the analysis of the conceptual content of emotional parameters. It is noted that most databases use the dimen-sional rather than categorical approach. With regard to whether the databases assess affective reactions to words or representations of their connotative meaning, it is suggested that the published ratings cannot be unambiguously classified according to this distinction. It was also be demonstrated that, despite the large overall samples involved in database development, the actual number of individuals who rated a particular word may be relatively small. Finally, attention is drawn to the fact that relying solely on averaged ratings to characterize the emo-tional properties of words may be insufficient; standard deviations of ratings should also be taken into account in analyses of word emotional characteristics.