Context-aware experience sampling reveals the scale of variation in affective experience

摘要: Emotion research typically searches for consistency and specificity in physiological activity across instances of an emotion category, such as anger or fear, yet studies to date have observed more variation than expected. In the present study, we adopt alternative approach, searching inductively structure within variation, both participants. Following a novel, physiologically-triggered experience sampling procedure, participants' self-reports peripheral were recorded when substantial changes cardiac occurred absence movement. Unsupervised clustering analyses revealed variability number nature patterns that recurred individuals, well affect ratings labels associated with each pattern. There also broad individuals. These findings support constructionist account which, drawing on Darwin, proposes categories are populations variable tied situation-specific needs.