Scholarly work has noted the problematic nature of using the terms “emotion”, “affect” and “mood” interchangeably.
[1] A lack of thorough understanding of these concepts could influence the choice of measures used in assessing the emotional components of interest in a study, leading to a less optimal research result.
The differentiation among these key concepts in affect research in the current era is becoming increasingly important, as consistent effort has been made to move out of the stage of using these constructs interchangeably.
The instructions of measures provide different timeframes to examine the continuum from state to trait.
[1] Examples of measures using distinct-states approach include theProfile of Mood States (POMS2), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory.
[3] Examples of the dimensional approach measures include the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM).
[8] Participants completing the PANAS are asked to rate the extent to which they experienced each out of 20 emotions on a 5-point Likert Scale ranging from "very slightly" to "very much".
The exact instructions may vary according to the purpose of the study: Participants may be asked how they feel right now or during longer periods of time (e.g. during the past year).
Half of the presented emotion words concern negative affect (distressed, upset, guilty, ashamed, hostile, irritable, nervous, jittery, scared, afraid), the other half positive affect (interested, alert, attentive, excited, enthusiastic, inspired, proud, determined, strong, active).
However, PANAS-X not only measures general positive and negative affect, but also four basic negative emotions (fear, hostility, guilt, and sadness), three basic positive emotions (joviality, self-assurance, and attentiveness), and four more complex affective states (shyness, fatigue, serenity, and surprise).
[10] The International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short Form (I-PANAS-SF) is a shortened version of the PANAS, intended to only contain cross-culturally well understandable emotion words.
In contrast to an earlier ad hoc created short forms of the PANAS,[11] the I-PANAS-FX has been developed in a multi-study procedure including studies with participants from 16 countries.
[12] The I-PANAS-SF is intended for general use in research situations where either time or space is limited, and for international use with participants whose native language is not English.
These items can be divided into 12 categories that measure 12 fundamental emotions, which include interest, enjoyment, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, guilt, shame, shyness, and hostility inward.
[5] Profile of Mood States (POMS2) contains 65 items that assess seven mood state dimensions, labeled as nervousness (tension-anxiety), unhappiness (depression-dejection), fury (anger-hostility), energy (vigor-activity), exhaustion (fatigue-inertia), inability to concentrate (confusion-bewilderment) and friendliness.
Anger-control refers to the tendency to engage in behaviors intended to reduce overt anger expression.