The independence of positive and negative affect.

TLDR

The study aims to investigate the processes underlying the relative independence of positive and negative affect. The authors collected daily mood data over 70 days (Studies 3 and 5) and over three weeks with momentary reports during intense emotions (Study 4). Positive and negative affect are largely independent over long periods, but show a strong negative correlation during emotional moments, with correlation decreasing logarithmically as the time span increases.

Abstract

Five studies on the relation between positive and negative affect are reported. In Studies 1 and 2 we found that positive feelings were remembered as being nearly independent of negative feelings in the past year, but the two types of affect were moderately negatively correlated for the past month. In Studies 3 and 5, subjects completed daily mood reports for 70 and 30 days, respectively. In Study 4, subjects completed three-week, daily, and moment mood reports and also filled out reports when they experienced strong emotions. The principal finding was that the relation between positive and negative affect differed greatly depending on the time frame. The strongest negative correlation between the two affects occurred during emotional times. The correlation decreased in a linear fashion as the time span covered increased logarithmically. It appears that positive and negative affect are independent in terms of how much people feel in their lives over longer time periods. Researchers need to focus on the processes that underlie both positive and negative affect and that are responsible for producing their relative independence.