title: Framework for a comprehensive description and measurement of emotional states.
abstract: The rationale for a general three-dimensional approach to measuring emotions (the Pleasure-Arousal-Dominance, PAD, Emotional-State Model) is described. Evidence bearing on two early versions of the PAD scales is reviewed, and three studies report additional development and refinement of a final set of PAD scales. Factor analysis of 58 PAD items in Study 1, 41 PAD items in Study 2, and 34 PAD items in Study 3 consistently yielded three nearly orthogonal Pleasure, Arousal, and Dominance factors. The final 16-item State Pleasure, 9-item State Arousal, and 9-item State Dominance scales had alpha reliability coefficients of .97, .89, and .80, respectively. Across Studies 2 and 3, intercorrelations among the latter three scales did not exceed .09 in absolute value, showing that the scales provided a parsimonious base for the general assessment of emotional states. Discriminant and construct validity evidence for the scales were reviewed. Potential applications of the scales were noted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehrabian
mesh_terms: D001143:Arousal; D004644:Emotions; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D012930:Social Dominance