Dimensions of affective expression in four expressive modes

Abstract

This study compares dimensions of affect expression in four expressive modes. The subjects were asked, under light hypnosis or with relaxation instructions, to express several affects verbally, graphically, and facially and posturally. Verbal excepts, drawings, movies of facial and postural expression, and affect labels and definitions (“theoretical” mode) were each exposed to groups of raters who evaluated the material using a “semantic differential” type instrument. Separate factor analyses of scale intercorrelations, followed by orthogonal rotation of factors, were performed on data from each expressive mode. Interpretable factors were generally similar across the modes. Accounting for the largest proportion of total variance were factors interpreted as activity and evaluation. Less salient but consistently appearing factors were interpreted as temporality and object‐relatedness. Potency and spatial orientation factors were also identified in each mode. A factor tentatively called containment emerged only in the analyses of data from non‐verbal modes. Rank difference correlations of affect scores showed, in general, a high correspondence of affect ranks among modes, indicating high cross‐modal similarity of affective meaning perceived in the complex rating material. The factors are discussed in terms of differences among modes and comparison with previous literature is made.