Measuring the intensity of emotions

Abstract

We describe a theoretical framework for the measurement of the intensity of emotional experiences and summarize findings of a series of studies that implemented this framework. Our approach is based on a realist view of quantities and combines the modern psychometric (i.e., latent-variable) view of measurement with a deductive order of inquiry for testing measurement axioms. At the core of the method are nonmetric probabilistic difference scaling methods, a class of indirect scaling methods based on ordinal judgments of intensity differences. Originally developed to scale sensations and preferences, these scaling methods are also well-suited for measuring emotion intensity, particularly in basic research. They are easy to perform and provide scale values of emotion intensity that are much more precise than the typically used, quality-intensity emotion rating scales. Furthermore, the scale values appear to fulfill central measurement-theoretical axioms necessary for interval-level measurement. Because of these properties, difference scaling methods allow precise tests of emotion theories on the individual subject level.