Toward a Measurement Model of the Affect Intensity Measure: A Three-Factor Structure

Abstract

Larsen (1984) developed the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM) as a measure of a theoretical unidimensional construct referred to as affect intensity, or the characteristic strength with which people experience emotions. Study 1 investigated the goodness-of-fit of five different measurement models of the AIM, using two independent samples of undergraduates (Ns = 673 and 631). For both samples, the best-fitting model consisted of three factors (Positive Affectivity, Negative Intensity, Negative Reactivity) that explained roughly 80% of the common variance in responses to a subset of 27 AIM items. Additional analyses revealed that women scored higher on Negative Reactivity than did men and were more emotionally reactive to negative stimuli than to positive, whereas men were more reactive to positive stimuli than to negative. These gender differences are explained in terms of differential socialization, which makes females more willing or able to express negative emotions relative to males. Study 2 assessed the discriminant validity of the three-factor model, relative to unidimensional AIM total score, in predicting dimensions of dispositional empathy as measured by the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1983). The three AIM factors together explained more variance in dispositional empathy than did AIM total score, with the increase inR2ranging from a low of 8% (for Fantasy) to a high of 125% (for Perspective Taking). Demonstrating discriminant validity, each AIM factor showed a different pattern of relations with the IRI subscales, and Negative Reactivity was more strongly predictive of dispositional empathy than were the other two AIM factors. These results corroborate the multidimensionality of affect intensity and highlight the importance of distinguishing between the characteristic strength of negative emotions when they are experienced (i.e., dispositional intensity) and the characteristic strength of emotions expressed in response to aversive stimuli (i.e., dispositional reactivity).