The Dimensionality of Anticipated Affective Reactions to Risky and Certain Decision Outcomes

Current Mood vs. Recalled Impacts of Current Moods after Exposures to Sequences of Uncertain Monetary Outcomes

Events in a sequence may each be evaluated as good or bad. We propose that such good-bad evaluations evoke emotional responses that change current mood. A model of recurrent updating of current mood is developed and compared to a model of how a sequence of events evoking emotional responses is evaluated retrospectively. In Experiment 1, 149 undergraduates are presented sequences of lottery outcomes with a fixed probability of losing or winning different amounts of money. Ratings of current mood are made after the sequence. Retrospective evaluations are either made after the ratings of current mood or, in a control condition, when no ratings of current mood are made. The results show an expected effect on current mood of the valence of the end of the sequence. The results are less clear in showing an expected beginning effect on the retrospective evaluations. An expected beginning effect on retrospective evaluations is found in Experiment 2 in which 41 undergraduates are first asked to remember the different amounts of money, then to evaluate the sequence as lottery outcomes.

Validation of a Swedish short self-report measure of core affect

This research aimed at validating two self-report composite rating scales of core affect that are useful when quick assessments are required, for instance, of current mood or recalled, anticipated, and experienced emotional reactions. The ratings were derived from the Swedish Core Affect Scales (SCAS) comprising six self-report rating scales of the two orthogonal dimensions of core affect, valence (unpleasantness-pleasantness) and activation (quietness-excitement). In three samples of university students who were requested to rate current moods, affect-inducing sounds, or affect-inducing pictures, the composite ratings were compared to SCAS, two widely used graphical rating scales of valence and activation, and skin conductance responses and the acceleratory peak of heart rate. Three different rating formats were also compared. The results showed that the composite ratings were reliable and yielded the expected correlations with the other ratings and with the physiological affect indicators. No effects of rating format were detected. It is concluded that the composite ratings of valence and activation may be used if quick assessments are called for. Choices can be made of any of three rating formats depending on purpose with the assessments.

Preference for negative emotions

This research demonstrates that preference for emotions sometimes cannot be equated with a positive-negative valence dimension. Participants were asked to make choices between pairs of affect-inducing options opposite in valence but equal in activation. The results showed that in absence of contextual cues or situational constraints, choices followed a pleasure-maximizing principle. However, when information was provided about a context cueing appropriateness of certain emotions over others, a preference reversal was observed so that negative emotions were preferred over positive emotions. These results are discussed in relation to current theories of pleasure-maximizing choice and behavior.

On Raising the International Dissemination of German Research

Abstract. It has been proposed that German basic psychology journals should change publication language to English in order to facilitate access to research from German-speaking countries. However, to truly increase the dissemination of German research, it seems crucial to progress towards an internationalization of authors and readers. We applied bibliometric analysis to investigate the impact of the transition to English on the rate of foreign authors publishing in Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie/Experimental Psychology, as well as possible associated changes in citation patterns. There was an increase in the rate of articles published by foreign authors from 14.6 and 8.7 per cent, respectively, for the last biannual periods as German-language journal, to 52.7 per cent in the first biannual period as English-language journal. Regarding citations patterns, the clearest changes emerged for domestic authors. The results illustrate possible consequences of a transition to English as publication language, and reveal that Experimental Psychology has successfully established certain prerequisites for an increase of the international dissemination of German psychology research.