Abstract
Research on positive and negative emotional states has supported several models of how those states relate to each other. Many studies suggest that they are independent, the “bivariate” view, while others suggest that they are inversely correlated, the “bipolar” view. Other research has shown that stress is a major moderator of the relationship; the affects become coupled under conditions of high stress, a contextual model, but are relatively independent otherwise. To expand the range of tests of this dynamic model of affect, we reanalyzed a data set initially reported by Ito, Cacioppo, and Lang (1998) on affect-eliciting picture stimuli. In that study, arousal was assessed separately from positive and negative affect, allowing investigation of a source of interaffect relationships different from stress, per se. Arousal interacted with positive and negative affect, showing both bivariate and bipolar relationships, and effects similar to stress. Affective reactions to the stimuli became more inversely correlated when the affects were high and interacting with higher arousal. The data supported the dynamic model of affect and suggest the need for further analyses of the linkages between stress, arousal, and reduced levels of emotional complexity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Ashby, F. G., Isen, A. M., & Turken, A. U. (1999). A neuropsychological theory of positive affect and its influence on cognition. Psychological Review, 106, 529–550.
Attneave, F. (1959). Application of information theory to psychology. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.
Block, M., & Zautra, A. J. (1981). Satisfaction and distress in the community: A test of the effects of life events. American Journal of Community Psychology, 9, 165–180.
Bradley, M. M., & Lang, P. J. (1999). Fearfulness and affective evaluations of pictures. Motivation and Emotion, 23, 1–13.
Cacioppo, J. T., & Berntson, G. G. (1994). Relationship between attitudes and evaluative space; A critical review, with emphasis on the separability of positive and negative substrates. Psychological Bulletin, 115, 401–423.
Cacioppo, J. T., Gardner, W. L., & Berntson, G. G. (1997). Beyond bipolar conceptualization and measures: The case of attitudes and evaluative space. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 1, 3–25.
Cacioppo, J. T., Gardner, W. L., & Berntson, G. G. (1999). The affect system has parallel and integrative components: Form follows function. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 839–854.
Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention (CSEA-NIMH). (1995). The international affective picture system: Digitized photographs. Gainesville: University of Florida, Center for Research in Psychophysiology.
Diener, E. (1999). Introduction to the Special Section on the structure of emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 803–804.
Diener, E., & Emmons, R. A. (1984). The independence of positive and negative affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1105–1117.
Easterbrook, J. A. (1959). The effect of emotion on cue utilization and the organization of behavior. Psychological Review, 66, 183–201.
Feldman Barrett, L. F., & Russell, J. A. (1999). The structure of current affect: Controversies and emerging consensus. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 8, 10–14.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. American Psychologist, 56, 218–226.
Green, D. P., Salovey, P., & Truax, K. M. (1999). Static, dynamic, and causative bipolarity of affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 856–867.
Isen, A. M. (2000). Positive affect and decision making. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (2nd ed., pp. 417–435). New York: Guilford Press.
Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., & Nowicki, G. P. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1122–1131.
Ito, T. A., Cacioppo, J. T., & Lang, P. J. (1998). Eliciting affect using the International Affective Picture System: Trajectories through evaluative space. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 855–879.
Kabat-Zinn, J. (1982). An outpatient program in behavioral medicine for chronic pain patients based on the practice of mindfulness meditation. General Hospital Psychiatry, 4, 33–47.
Lang, P. J., Bradley, M. M., & Cuthbert, B. N. (1995). International affective picture system (IAPS): Technical manual and affective ratings. Gainesville: University of Florida: Center for Research in Psychophysiology.
Lang, P. J., Greenwald, M. K., Bradley, M. M., & Hamm, A. O. (1993). Looking at pictures: Affective, facial, visceral, and behavioral reactions. Psychophysiology, 30, 261–273.
Lewinsohn, S., & Mano, H. (1993). Multi-attribute choice and affect: The influence of naturally occurring and manipulated moods on choice processes. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 6, 33–51.
Linville, P. (1985). Self-complexity and affective extremity: Don't put all of your eggs in one basket. Social Cognition, 3, 94–120.
Linville, P. (1987). Self-complexity as a cognitive buffer against stress-related illness and depression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 663–676.
Mano, H. (1994). Risk-taking, framing effects, and affect. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 57, 38–58.
Neuberg, S. N., & Newsom, J. T. (1993). Personal need for structure: Individual differences in the desire for simple structure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 113–131.
Paulhus, D. L., & Lim, D. T. (1994). Arousal and evaluative extremity in social judgments: A dynamic complexity model. European Journal of Social Psychology, 24, 51–70.
Potter, P. T., Zautra, A. J., & Reich, J. W. (2000). Stressful events and information processing dispositions moderate the relationship between positive and negative affect: Implications for pain patients. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 22, 191–198.
Reich, J. W., & Zautra, A. J. (1981). Life events and personal causation: Some relationships with satisfaction and distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 41, 1002–1012.
Reich, J. W., Zautra, A. J., & Davis, M. C. (in press). Dimensions of affect relationships: Models and their integrative implications. Journal of General Psychology.
Reich, J. W., Zautra, A. J., & Potter, P. T. (2001). Cognitive structure and the independence of positive and negative affect. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 20, 105–122.
Russell, J. A., & Feldman Barrett, L. (1999). Core affect, prototypical emotional episodes, and other things called emotion: Dissecting the elephant. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 805–819.
Salovey, P. Mayer, J. D., Goldman, S. L., Turvey, C., & Palfai, T. P. (1995). Emotional attention, clarity, and repair: Exploring emotional intelligence using the Trait Meta-Mood Scale. In J. W. Pennebaker (Ed)., Emotion, disclosure, and health (pp. 125–154). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Salovey, P., Rothman, A. J., Detweiler, J. B., & Steward, W. T. (2000). Emotional states and physical health. American Psychologist, 55, 110–121.
Watson, D., Wiese, D., Vaidya, J., & Tellegen, A. (1999). The two general activation systems of affect: Structural findings, evolutionary considerations, and psychobiological evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 820–838.
Zautra, A. J., Potter, P. T., & Reich, J. W. (1997). The independence of affects is context-dependent: An integrative model of the relationship between positive and negative affect. In K. W. Schaie & M. Powell (Eds.), Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics (Vol. 17). New York: Springer.
Zautra, A. J., Reich, J. W., Davis, M. C., Nicolson, N. A., & Potter, P. T. (2000). The role of stressful events in the relationship between positive and negative affects: Evidence from field and experimental studies. Journal of Personality, 68, 927–951.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Reich, J.W., Zautra, A.J. Arousal and the Relationship Between Positive and Negative Affect: An Analysis of the Data of Ito, Cacioppo, and Lang (1998). Motivation and Emotion 26, 209–222 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021773013487
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021773013487