Ellipse rather than a circumplex: A systematic test of various circumplexes of emotions

Abstract

The circumplex model of affect, defined by the dimensions of Valence and Arousal, is commonly used to describe the emotional experience. The usefulness of both dimensions has been confirmed, but Arousal has structural problems. In this study, we systematically investigated the structure of affect in terms of meeting the requirements of (a) full circumplex (communalities and angles are equal), (b) quasi-circumplex with equal angles, (c) quasi-circumplex with equal communalities, (d) circular model (both communalities and angles can be unequal) and we inspected which scales deviated from their theoretically expected location. We examined the structure of state affect based on the Chinese circumplex model of affect by Yik (2009), trait-like affect (actual) and ideal affect measured with the affect valuation index by Tsai et al. (2006). Structural equation modeling and Procrustes analyses were used to examine the structure of affect in a sample of N = 863. There was no evidence of a circumplex structure in any of the models of affect, instead a circular model was supported in all cases. In all models, the Arousal dimension was systematically associated with discrepancies from the theoretical predictions derived from circumplex model of affect, resulting in an ellipse structure.