Momentary affect in Spanish: Scales, structure, and relationship to personality

Abstract

This article shows that basic aspects of the structure of momentary affect are similar in Spanish and Canadian societies. It developed questionnaire scales in Spanish in four different formats for assessing momentary affect. Scales can be scored for dimensions defined by Barrett and Russell (1998), Thayer (1996), Larsen and Diener (1992), and Watson and Tellegen (1985). In a sample of Spanish-speaking respondents (N = 233), the new scales were found to be psychometrically sound and to be interrelated as found with English-speaking Canadians: Dimensions could be integrated into a two-dimensional bipolar space. Personality correlated with momentary affect, though not in the same pattern as found in Canada.