Showing papers by "Reed W. Larson published in 1987"
TL;DR: The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) as discussed by the authors is an attempt to provide a valid instrument to describe variations in self-reports of mental processes, which can be used to obtain empirical data on the following types of variables: (a) frequency and patterning of daily activity, social interaction, and changes in location; (b) frequency, intensity, and patterns of psychological states, i.e., emotional, cognitive, and conative dimensions of experience; (c) frequency of thoughts, including quality and intensity of thought disturbance.
Abstract: To understand the dynamics of mental health, it is essential to develop measures for the frequency and the patterning of mental processes in every-day-life situations. The Experience-Sampling Method (ESM) is an attempt to provide a valid instrument to describe variations in self-reports of mental processes. It can be used to obtain empirical data on the following types of variables: (a) frequency and patterning of daily activity, social interaction, and changes in location; (b) frequency, intensity, and patterning of psychological states, i.e., emotional, cognitive, and conative dimensions of experience; (c) frequency and patterning of thoughts, including quality and intensity of thought disturbance. The article reviews practical and methodological issues of the ESM and presents evidence for its short-and long-term reliability when used as an instrument for assessing the variables outlined above.
2,016 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the independence of positive and negative affect in a person's life and found strong internal consistency in each person's rates of positive or negative affect, not only from week to week, but also from day to day and hour to hour.
Abstract: This research investigates the hypothesis that the rates of positive and negative affect in a person's life are independent. Whereas prior research on this issue has relied upon people's recollections, a source of information subject to distortion, this research employs reports obtained from immediate experience. Members of an adolescent and an adult sample carried electronic pagers for 1 week and filled out reports on their immediate affective states upon receipt of signals sent to them at random times. The frequencies of positive and negative affective states for each person were then computed from this pool of time samples. The findings reveal strong internal consistency in each person's rates of positive and negative affect. However, congruent with the independence hypothesis, these frequency rates of positive and negative affect were not correlated with each other. The findings dispel the possibility that the results of prior research were affected by distortions of recollection, and they suggest that the occurrence of positive and negative affect in a person's life are independent, not only from week to week, but also from day to day and hour to hour.
34 citations