Research on so-called ‘nonviolent communication’ (NVC) has so far focused on evaluating training programmes, providing evidence of improved emotional regulation and interpersonal skills in participants following training compared with pre-training. Yet little is known about the immediate emotional and cognitive effects of communication style on recipients in real time.

To address this gap, two experimental groups were exposed to five realistic, fictional scenarios comprising a few sentences and differing in style between groups: an accusatory ‘blame’ style versus a constructive ‘frame’ style (based on NVC principles). After each scenario, participants completed a colour–word Stroop task to assess attentional control. Affect was measured pre- and post-experimentally using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS).

Results indicate divergent affective and attentional trajectories. Participants in the blame group reported more negative affect afterwards, whereas those in the frame group showed increased positive affect. In the Stroop task, the frame group demonstrated a training-related effect across blocks, suggesting improved attentional control, while the blame group showed no such improvement.

These findings indicate that communication style directly affects both affective state and attentional performance in recipients, suggesting that constructive framing supports attentional efficiency and positive affect, whereas accusatory communication hinders attentional adaptation and increases negative affect. Taken together, these results show that even brief exposure to a particular communication style is sufficient to modulate recipients’ cognitive and emotional responses, providing insight into the mechanisms by which interaction dynamics shape attention and emotional regulation in real-life situations.