Cross-cultural validation of the "International affective picture system" (IAPS) on a sample from Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

In this study the normative ratings of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS, Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention [CSEA], 1995) were compared with the ratings from a Bosnian sample. Seventy-two psychology undergraduates from the University of Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) rated valence, dominance and arousal for a stratified sample of 60 pictures that was selected from the IAPS. Reliability coefficients indicate that the self-report ratings are internally consistent. The affective ratings from our sample correlated strongly with the North American ratings at: .95, .81 and .91, respectively for valence, arousal and dominance. Consistent with expectations, mean valence and dominance ratings did not differ significantly between the Bosnian and North American sample. Furthermore, plotting of the Bosnian valence and arousal ratings results in a similar boomerang shaped distribution as the North American affective ratings. Taken together, findings obtained from the Bosnian sample confirm the cross-cultural validity of the IAPS

Adaptation of the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) for European Portuguese

“…The distribution presented in Fig. 3 showed that the EP ratings of the IAPS pictures fits the typical boomerang-shape reported by Lang et al in the successive USA versions of the IAPS (1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008), as well as observed in the other international standardizations (e.g., Drače et al, 2013;Dufey et al, 2011;Lasaitis et al, 2008;Moltó et al, 1999;Ribeiro et al 2005;Verschuere et al, 2001;Vila et al, 2001;Silva, 2011). As illustrated in Fig.…”

“…It is worth noting that despite the fact more recent studies use a more extended interval that includes the categorization of neutral stimuli (ranging usually from 4 to 6 points), the value 5 was used as cutoff in the classification of pleasant (i.e., pictures with valence scores above 5 points) and unpleasant (i.e., pictures with valence scores below 5 points) pictures. This option was motivated by the fact that it is the criterion adopted by Bradley and Lang to define the two motivational systems of avoidance (the defensive system) and approach (the appetitive system), and the same criterion was adopted by all the existing normative studies of the IAPS set (e.g., Drače et al, 2013;Dufey et al, 2011;Lang et al, 1995Lang et al, -2008Lasaitis et al, 2008;Moltó et al, 1999;Ribeiro et al 2005;Verschuere et al, 2001;Vila et al, 2001;Silva, 2011).…”

“…Lohani et al (2013) in India provided normative ratings for 100 pictures of the 2005 IAPS version. Finally, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Drače et al (2013) provided recently norms for 60 pictures from the 1995 IAPS version.…”

“…In spite of the fact that the IAPS pictures elicited emotional responses that are similar in different countries and cultures (e.g., Déak et al, 2010;Drače et al 2013;Dufey et al 2011;Moltó et al, 1999;Lasaitis et al, 2008;Ribeiro et al, 2005;Silva, 2011;Verschuere et al, 2001;Vila et al 200), some differences between the American and other standardizations have been observed. For example, Lohani et al (2013) found that Indian subjects rated IAPS pictures with higher levels of arousal and dominance than the USA counterparts; Barke et al (2012) found that German subjects rated the IAPS pictures as more positive and less arousing than Americans; Moltó et al (1999) and Vila et al (2001) found that Spanish participants perceived IAPS pictures as more arousing and less dominant than Americans; and Ribeiro et al (2005) and Lasaitis et al (2008) found that Brazilian subjects rated IAPS pictures with higher levels of arousal than Americans, a result also observed by Dufey et al (2011) in a study with Chilean subjects.…”

Introducing the Open Affective Standardized Image Set (OASIS)

“…Third, studies conducted with samples from such varied societies as Bosnia (Drace, Efendic, Kusturica, & Landzo, 2013), Brazil (Lasaitis, Ribeiro, & Bueno, 2008), Chile (Dufey, Fernandez, & Mayol, 2011), Hungary (Deák, Csenki, & Révész, 2010), and India (Lohani, Gupta, & Srinivasan, 2013) have revealed major similarities, but also subtle cultural differences, in terms of the valence and arousal ratings assigned to IAPS images. Therefore, future studies should verify the cross-cultural validity of OASIS.…”