TY - JOUR
T1 - Qualitative and Quantitative Sources of Affect
T2 - How Valence and Unexpectedness Relate to Pleasantness and Preference
AU - Iran-Nejad, Asghar
AU - Ortony, Andrew
N1 - Funding Information:
We wish to thank Harry Blanchard, Jerry Clore, and Terry Turner for their insightful comments on an earlier version of this paper. The research reported herein was supported in part by the National Institute of Education under Contract No. HEW-NIE-C-400-76-0116, by a National Institute of Mental Health social psychology grant (MH15801) to the University of Michigan, and by a Spencer Fellowship awarded to the second author by the National Academy of Education.
PY - 1985/9/1
Y1 - 1985/9/1
N2 - Optimal-level theories maintain that the quality of affect is a function of a quantitative arousal potential dimension. An alternative view is that the quantitative dimension merely modulates preexisting qualitative properties and is therefore only responsible for changes in the degree of affect. Thus, the quality of affect, whether it is positive or negative, has to be treated as a separate independent variable. In an experiment to compare these alternatives, the quantitative dimension was manipulated by varying the degree of unexpectedness of endings in stories that were overall either positive or negative. Contrary to predictions of optimal-level theory, results showed that differently valenced story endings, judged the same on an expectation scale, were rated very differently in hedonic tone and preference.
AB - Optimal-level theories maintain that the quality of affect is a function of a quantitative arousal potential dimension. An alternative view is that the quantitative dimension merely modulates preexisting qualitative properties and is therefore only responsible for changes in the degree of affect. Thus, the quality of affect, whether it is positive or negative, has to be treated as a separate independent variable. In an experiment to compare these alternatives, the quantitative dimension was manipulated by varying the degree of unexpectedness of endings in stories that were overall either positive or negative. Contrary to predictions of optimal-level theory, results showed that differently valenced story endings, judged the same on an expectation scale, were rated very differently in hedonic tone and preference.
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U2 - 10.1207/s15324834basp0603_5
DO - 10.1207/s15324834basp0603_5
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84889650298
SN - 0197-3533
VL - 6
SP - 257
EP - 278
JO - Basic and Applied Social Psychology
JF - Basic and Applied Social Psychology
IS - 3
ER -