Journal article
Conceptualizing Emotions Along the Dimensions of Valence, Arousal, and Communicative Frequency – Implications for Social-Cognitive Tests and Training Tools
Frontiers in psychology, Vol.2, pp.266-266
01/01/2011
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00266
PMCID: PMC3196197
PMID: 22022317
Abstract
Background and Objectives:
Emotion words are mostly characterized along the classic dimensions of arousal and valence. In the current study we sought to complement this characterization by investigating the frequency of emotions in human everyday communication, which may be crucial information for designing new diagnostic or intervention tools to test and improve emotion recognition.
Methods:
One hundred healthy German individuals were asked to indicate the valence and arousal of 62 emotion words in a questionnaire. Importantly, participants were additionally asked to indicate the frequency with which they experience each emotion themselves and observe it in others.
Results:
Positive emotions were judged to occur more often than negative emotions in everyday life. The more negatively valenced emotions were rated to be observed more often in others than experienced in one-self. On the other hand more positively valenced emotions were experienced more often in one-self than they were observed in others. Finally, increasing age was associated with a decrease in the frequency of observing an emotion in other people.
Limitations:
Future studies with larger sample sizes are needed to ascertain if the findings also apply to other cultural and language contexts.
Conclusion:
These results imply a greater frequency of positive emotions than negative emotions in everyday communication. The finding of such a bias toward positive emotions can guide the selection of emotion words for implementation in socio-emotional intervention tools. Such a selection may represent an effective means for improving social-cognitive functioning in people with respective impairments.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Conceptualizing Emotions Along the Dimensions of Valence, Arousal, and Communicative Frequency – Implications for Social-Cognitive Tests and Training Tools
- Creators
- Robert Hepach - Max Planck Research Group “Neurocognition of Decision Making,” Max Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentDorit Kliemann - University of Iowa, Psychological and Brain SciencesSebastian Grüneisen - Max Planck Research Group “Neurocognition of Decision Making,” Max Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentHauke R Heekeren - Max Planck Research Group “Neurocognition of Decision Making,” Max Planck Institute for Human DevelopmentIsabel Dziobek - Max Planck Research Group “Neurocognition of Decision Making,” Max Planck Institute for Human Development
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Frontiers in psychology, Vol.2, pp.266-266
- Publisher
- Frontiers Research Foundation
- DOI
- 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00266
- PMID
- 22022317
- PMCID
- PMC3196197
- ISSN
- 1664-1078
- eISSN
- 1664-1078
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/2011
- Academic Unit
- Psychiatry; Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984065828202771
Metrics
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