Comparing static and dynamic measures of affect intensity and affective lability: do they measure the same thing?
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Comparing static and dynamic measures of affect intensity and affective lability: do they measure the same thing? Sarah H. Sperry1 · Thomas R. Kwapil1,2
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract This was the first study to our knowledge to examine whether dispositional scales of affect intensity and affective lability map on to corresponding momentary affective dynamics. Specifically, we assessed whether the Affect Intensity Measure (AIM) and Affective Lability Scale (ALS) are differentially associated with mean, variability, and instability of negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). Young adults (n = 135) completed the AIM, ALS, and 7 days of experience sampling assessments. Higher scores on the AIM were associated with variability and instability of NA and PA whereas the ALS was associated with mean levels of NA and PA. Neither the AIM nor the ALS were associated with reactivity to stressful, negative, or positive experiences in the moment. The AIM and ALS accounted for little variance in momentary affective dynamics and effects were generally small. Findings highlighted that static measures of dynamic phenomena poorly map onto momentary measures of affect in daily life. Theoretical and methodological implications are discussed. Keywords Affective lability · Affect intensity · Experience sampling methodology · Affective dynamics
Introduction Affect intensity and affective lability represent dynamic psychological phenomena related to well-being and psychopathology (Larsen et al. 2009; Lewis 2005; Scherer 2000). Yet, these processes have historically been assessed using static measures that only approximate dynamic phenomenon by assessing one’s general disposition (Wright and Hopwood 2016). Two such dispositional scales, the Affect Intensity Measures (AIM; Larsen 1985; Larsen et al. 1986) and Affective Lability Scale (ALS; Harvey et al. 1989) are well-validated measures that were developed to assess individual differences in affect intensity and affective lability. However, since their development, advances in ambulatory Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-020-09840-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Sarah H. Sperry [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, USA
2
assessment methods such as experience sampling methodology (ESM) now allow for the more direct estimation of moment-to-moment affective dynamics that capture intensity and lability. As such, the present study aimed to assess whether people who are high in dispositional affect intensity and affective lability, as measured by the AIM and ALS, are more likely to report affect intensity and affective lability in their daily lives as measured by ESM. The AIM was developed to assess individual differences in affect intensity, the magnitude or streng
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