Chapter 8 - Measures of Affect Dimensions

Abstract

Several multidimensional measures of state–trait affect dimensions have been reviewed, including the Melbourne Curiosity Inventory (MCI); the State–Trait Personality Inventory (STPI); the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule – Extended (PANAS-X); the Differential Emotions Scale (DES-IV); the Profile of Mood States (POMS-2); the Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist – Revised (MAACL-R); the Eight State Questionnaire (8SQ); the Multidimensional Mood-State Inventory (MMSI); the Activation–Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD-ACL); the UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist (UMACL); and the Dundee Stress State Questionnaire (DSSQ). The major limitation of many of these measures is the use of somewhat arbitrary and restricted timeframes instructions. Several of the measures assess affects either as a state or as a trait dimension (e.g., the STAI, STPI, STCI, MCI, MAACL-R). Others allow measurement of affect dimensions as longer-lasting mood states (e.g., DES-IV, POMS-2; 8SQ). Only the PANAS-X allows measurement across a range of timeframes, and this is the model recommended for the measurement of affects in future studies. Clearly, there is a continuum of response timeframes ranging all the way from brief situationally-sensitive emotional states (that may change several times throughout the day), through longer-lasting moods (that remain somewhat stable over a period of a week or even months), to long-lasting enduring dispositional traits (that persist over many years, or even the lifespan). Adherence to discrete state or trait concepts provides an oversimplified approach to the measurement of affect dimensions.