Are emotional clarity and emotion differentiation related?

Abstract

Distinct literatures have developed regarding the constructs of emotional clarity (people's meta-knowledge of their affective experience) and emotion differentiation (people's ability to differentiate affective experience into discrete categories, e.g., anger vs. fear). Conceptually, emotion differentiation processes might be expected to contribute to increased emotional clarity. However, the relation between emotional clarity and emotion differentiation has not been directly investigated. In two studies with independent, undergraduate student samples, we measured emotional clarity using a self-report measure and derived emotion differentiation scores from scenario-based (Study 1) and event-sampling-based (Study 2) measures of affect. We found that emotional clarity and emotion differentiation are: (i) associated to a very small and statistically insignificant degree; and (ii) differentially associated with trait and scenario-based/event-sampling-based measures of affect intensity and variability. These results suggest that emotional clarity and differentiation are distinct constructs with unique relations to various facets of affective experience.

Finding meaning through emotional understanding: emotional clarity predicts meaning in life and adjustment to existential threat

“…Such measures tend to be performance based (e.g., the time taken to label affective states; Lischetzke et al 2005) and therefore less susceptible to biases. Further, these measures are more precise because they assess emotional clarity in the moment, rather than relying on generalizations of one's emotional experiences (e.g., Boden et al 2013;Kashdan et al 2010;Lischetzke et al 2005;Pond et al 2012). Relatedly, future research should investigate the link between meaning and other constructs that are similar to, but distinct from, emotional clarity.…”

“…As a self-report measure of emotional clarity, the TMMS measure of emotional clarity is susceptible to subjective biases, and therefore may less accurately assess peoples' actual proclivity to understand, identify, and discriminate between affective states (Boden et al 2013;Lischetzke et al 2005). Future research should consider using indirect state measures of emotional clarity.…”

“…Self-esteem is a well-established predictor of meaning in life (Steger et al 2006). Emotional clarity, especially when it is assessed with self-report measures, is considered to be based on knowledge about the self (Boden et al 2013). Thus, it is useful to distinguish emotional clarity from general perceptions of self-worth as a predictor of meaning in life.…”

“…Relatedly, future research should investigate the link between meaning and other constructs that are similar to, but distinct from, emotional clarity. Emotion differentiation, for example, refers to the extent to which people identify, label, and represent their discrete affective states (Boden et al 2013). Boden et al (2013) argued that emotional clarity is based on self-related beliefs and generalized knowledge about affective experiences over time, whereas emotion differentiation is based on situation specific affective information and is conceptualized as a skill.…”

“…Emotion differentiation, for example, refers to the extent to which people identify, label, and represent their discrete affective states (Boden et al 2013). Boden et al (2013) argued that emotional clarity is based on self-related beliefs and generalized knowledge about affective experiences over time, whereas emotion differentiation is based on situation specific affective information and is conceptualized as a skill. Because emotional differentiation assesses peoples' ability to identify affective states at the level of discrete experiences (e.g., Boden et al 2013;Pond et al 2012), measures of emotional differentiation may be useful to help determine whether or not the ability to clearly identify and understand emotions allows people to derive more meaning from situations.…”