Construction and validation of the circumplex model of affect with English and Greek athletic samples

Abstract

The circumplex model of affect holds that most emotions can be arranged in a circular fashion around the perimeter of two independent bipolar dimensions that intersect each other, namely pleasant/unpleasant and arousing/sleepy. The authors of the present study attempted to construct the circumplex model using English and Greek athletic samples, examining similarities among and differences between these cultures, and comparing the original circumplex against the models that were constructed. A mixed-model design was employed in which there was a within-subjects factor (three word-sorting tasks) and a between-subjects factor (culture). A purposive athletic sample of 128 volunteers (English, n = 60; 29 women, 31 men; Mage = 24.5 ± 5.0 years; Greek, n = 68; 23 women, 45 men; Mage = 23.2 ± 4.2 years) completed three word-sorting tasks. A software package named Kyklos was developed to facilitate the circumplex analysis. Findings provided support for the circumplex model among English and Greek athletic populations and more specifically, its pleasantness and arousal dimensions. Some concepts describing an individual's emotional or psychological state may be understood and experienced differently across such diverse cultures.