Indices and Correlates of Positive Emotion in Psychopathology

Abstract

This chapter not only draws from previous authoritative measurement overviews in the general field of emotion, but also advances these resources in several key ways. First, it provides a specific focus on positive valence systems, which have not yet received specific methodological attention. Second, the field of positive emotion (PE) has expanded in recent years with new and innovative methods, making an updated review of methodological tools timely. Third, the chapter incorporates discussion of PE disturbance in clinical populations and the methods best suited to capture PE dysfunctions. This chapter also outlines some tools that can allow researchers to capture a broad array of PE quantified by self-report, behavioral coding, and biological correlates as seen through changes in the central and peripheral nervous system (i.e., brain and body). After reviewing PE measurement methods and correlates, this chapter includes several methods for studying PE beyond the individual level (i.e., interpersonal) and traditional laboratory settings (i.e., ambulatory or experience sampling). It provides key examples of their applications to study PE in clinical populations while acknowledging several of their basic advantages and disadvantages.