Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Feb 13, 2020
Date Accepted: Aug 18, 2020
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Validation of Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count for the Identification of Emotional Expression
ABSTRACT
Background:
Given the high volume and ubiquitousness of text-based communication, such as e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, and additional online and mobile applications, there are unique opportunities to use text to better understand underlying psychological constructs, such as emotion.
Objective:
The purpose of this study was to update previous validation results with two newer versions of LIWC.
Methods:
In order to accomplish this object, the accuracy of LIWC 2007 and LIWC 2015 for the detection of emotional expression using tests of specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value was assessed.
Results:
Results indicate that LIWC 2001, LIWC 2007, and LIWC 2015 each demonstrate good sensitivity for identifying emotional expression, while LIWC 2007 and LIWC 2015 were significantly more sensitive than LIWC 2001 for identifying emotional expression and positive emotion; however, more recent versions of LIWC were also significantly more likely to over identify emotional content than LIWC 2001. LIWC 2001 demonstrated significantly better precision (F-Score) for identifying overall emotion, negative emotion, and anxiety compared to LIWC 2007 and LIWC 2015.
Conclusions:
Taken as a whole, these results suggest that LIWC 2001 most accurately reflects the human coders in emotional identification.
Citation
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Copyright
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