Structure of Emotions

Interesting structures emerge in scaling analyses of emotions when stimuli are confined to terms that are relatively free of cognitive and behavioral connotations. Study 1 focused on 99 such terms, rated on semantic differential scales. It revealed a bimodal distribution of emotions with regard to pleasantness, further distinctions in terms of activation, and a third dimension representing flight-fight. Study 2 obtained dissimilarity ratings for a representative subset of the terms; nonmetric multidimensional scaling replicated the dimensions in Study 1 with a clarified third dimension. None of the results conform strictly to a circumplex model of emotion. Instead the results suggest that emotions are hedonically polarized feelings. Activation appears to be the main discriminating factor in positive emotions, but activation and a sense of potency combine in discriminating negative emotions. These results encourage a dimensionally based cybernetic approach to emotion research.