PERSONIFICATION OF EMOTIONAL STATES THROUGH FOOD IMAGES IN MEDIA TEXTS

Abstract

The rapid integration of cognitive linguistics and media discourse 
analysis is fundamentally transforming our understanding of how abstract 
emotional states are personified through food imagery. This paper presents a 
critical scientific literature review of recent peer-reviewed advancements in 
gastronomic metaphors, evaluating their communicative efficacy in triggering 
specific affective responses. The review synthesizes findings on conceptual 
mapping, demonstrating how positive emotional states-such as nostalgia, 
psychological comfort, and affection-are frequently personified through "sweet" 
and "warm" food imagery, whereas negative states, including anxiety, resentment, 
and moral disgust, are mapped onto "bitter," "sour," or "decaying" food concepts. 
Furthermore, the convergence of textual and visual modalities in digital journalism 
is examined through the lens of emerging psycholinguistic vulnerabilities, 
specifically how these sensory manipulations affect audience empathy and cross
cultural interpretation. Despite significant theoretical maturation in Conceptual 
Metaphor Theory (CMT), a critical research gap persists regarding the empirical, 
corpus-driven validation of how distinct emotional spectrums are computationally 
processed in algorithmic media environments. The study concludes that while food 
imagery dramatically enhances emotional resonance by simulating visceral 
psychological reactions, its integration into persuasive mass media relies heavily 
on the future development of robust, culture-specific affective models.