Does language influence non-linguistic cognitive processes, and if so, how? Previous research supports its suggested influence, for example showing that linguistic labels facilitate concept formation even when they are redundant (Lupyan et al., 2007). In two experiments, we replicated the facilitatory effect of redundant labels using a new stimulus set, and then investigated whether valence plays a role in these findings.
In training, participants in two experiments learned to categorize two types of fish by moving a diver towards or away from the respective fish types. Auditory feedback was given after each trial. The label group received a linguistic label after the feedback ("Libach" vs. "Wonter"), whereas the no-label group did not receive the labels. In Experiment 1 (the replication) the two categories differed in valence (dangerous vs. harmless) whereas in Experiment 2, any contributions of valence were largely prevented via the task framing (fish swimming with or against the current).
The label group outperformed the no-label group in both experiments, showing faster and better concept learning in the training phase and increased categorization performance directly after the training phase and a day later.
These results thus replicate the finding that redundant linguistic labels facilitate category learning, while showing that this effect is not reliant on contexts in which the categories contain valence, providing evidence that further underlines the influence of even redundant language on non-linguistic cognition.

Lupyan, G., et al. (2007). Language is not just for talking: Redundant labels facilitate learning of novel categories. Psychological Science, 18(12), 1077–1083.