Titles of articles published in the journal Psychological Reports: changes in language, emotion, and imagery over time.

Over 1,500 titles of articles in the journal Psychological Reports for 1955-59, 1975, and 1995 were analyzed using the Dictionary of Affect in Language. There were changes across time in emotional tone measured in terms of Pleasantness (which was somewhat low and rose across time) and Activation (which was high and also rose). Significant differences were also present for Imagery (which was high and rose across time), style (titles became longer and more complex across time), and word use (the words used differed significantly across time). Results were interpreted as reflecting the functions of titles and changing trends in psychology, for example, the predominance of Behaviourism in the earliest sample and the inclusion of more social-psychological terms in the most recent one.