Reanalyses of a number of studies of self-reported mood indicate that Positive and Negative Affect consistently emerge as the first two Varimax rotated dimensions in orthogonal factor analyses or as the first two second-order factors derived from oblique solutions. The two factors emerged with varying sets of descriptors and were even replicated in several data sets characterized by possible methodological problems noted by earlier writers (acquiescence response bias, inappropriate response formats, and so on). The results thus strongly attest to the stability and robustness of Positive and Negative Affect in self-report. Because this same two-dimensional configuration has also been consistently identified in all of the other major lines of mood research, it is now firmly established as the basic structure of English-language affect at the general factor level.

Psychology has rediscovered affect. Recent studies established connections between basic dimensions of self-rated mood and broad personality traits (Costa & McCrae, 1980; Tellegen, 1984; Warr, Barter, & Brownbridge, 1983; Watson & Clark, 1984), social judgments (Abelson, Kinder, Peters, & Fiske, 1982), and the differential diagnosis of psychopathology (Hall, 1977). Many social psychologists, for example, inspired largely by the writings of Schachter (1966), Zajonc (1980a, 1980b), and others have now incorporated mood concepts into their theories and research (e.g., Abelson et al., 1982; Fiske, 1981; Higgins, Kuiper, & Olson, 1981). This recent explosion of research has led Tomkins (1981) to declare that “the next decade or so belongs to affect” (p. 314).

If affect is to assume its proper place in psychological thinking, mood assessment must accurately reflect the structure of emotional experience. Unfortunately, initial examination suggests a striking lack of consensus concerning the dimensional structure of affect. Several major lines of research on affective structure indicate the presence of two major bipolar dimensions. These include analyses of facial and vocal emotional expressions (e.g., Abelson...