Semantic analysis of mood adjectives in relation to positive and negative affect: evidence for combining similarly valenced mood subscales in quantitative reviews

Psychol Rep. 2003 Jun;92(3 Pt 2):1176-86. doi: 10.2466/pr0.2003.92.3c.1176.

Abstract

Meta-analysis has been criticized for combining studies with different independent and dependent variables--the alleged "apples and oranges" problem. This study provides evidence for the inclusion of similarly valenced subscales from self-report mood scales in meta-analysis. Undergraduates (N=214) were randomly assigned to a "positive" or "negative" group to complete a checklist containing words from 12 different scales. Cluster analyses indicated that mood subscales formed a two-cluster positive and negative solution. All participants were assigned to the correct cluster. Discriminant analyses correctly classified more than 95% of participants for each mood scale. Results indicate that subscales from commonly used mood inventories can be combined in meta-analyses having positive or negative affect as the dependent variable.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Affect*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Random Allocation
  • Semantics*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires*
  • Vocabulary*