Positive vibes, predictive minds: Positive mood fuels predictive language comprehension in richer semantic contexts

Language comprehension engages activation of neurocognitive predictive mechanisms. Theoretical frameworks and early empirical evidence also suggest that these mechanisms can be shaped by one’s mood state. Here we show that, unlike negative mood, positive mood dynamically promotes predictive language comprehension, particularly in richer semantic contexts. Participants were experimentally induced into positive and negative moods. Then, they were presented with sequences of three pictures that formed non-verbal semantic contexts of varying degrees of constraint, followed by a semantically related (prediction match) or unrelated (prediction mismatch) word. First, semantic context construction (indexed by the N400 responses) was enhanced in medium-constraint condition under positive compared to negative mood. Second, anticipatory pre-activation (indexed by Stimulus Preceding Negativity responses) was facilitated under positive compared to negative mood in high-constraint context. Finally, re-evaluation of prediction matches was facilitated in high-constraint context under positive compared to negative mood. Together, these findings extend theoretical frameworks by indicating that, unlike negative mood, positive mood dynamically shapes neurocognitive mechanisms underlying predictive language comprehension in semantically richer contexts, facilitating context construction and prediction generation, anticipatory pre-activation of linguistic representations, and deeper integration of confirmed predictions.