Measurement issues in emotion research
In Daniel Kahneman, Edward Diener, and Norbert Schwarz (eds.) Well-being: The foundations of hedonic psychology, New York, 1999, pp. 40–60
Abstract
We open this chapter on measurement issues with the recommendation that researchers construct a working definition of emotion (s) that best fits their research agenda prior to selecting measures. We then discuss issues that cut across all types of emotion measurement, such as timing and context, as well as reliability and validity. Next, we provide a selective review of specific measurement techniques, touching on self-reports of subjective experience, observer rat-ings, facial measures, autonomic measures, brain-based measures, vocal measures, and responses to emotion-sensitive tasks. Our aim in this selective review is to highlight some specific strengths, weaknesses, and measurement issues associated with different types of emotion measures. Finally, because emotions are only probablistically linked to emotion measures, we also recommend that, to the extent pos-sible, researchers collect and cross-reference multiple measures of emotion.