Chapter 1 : Measuring the meaning of emotion words: A domain-specific componential approach

Authors : K. R. Scherer

Abstract : It is suggested that the features of the meaning of all emotion words must be determined by the specific nature of emotion as a bio-psycho-social phenomenon and that thus the nature and definition of emotion need to be clarified first. After exploring three potential theoretical frameworks, a componential framework in the form of the Component Process Model of emotion (CPM) is presented. Specifically, the issue of the number of different emotions and their categorization and labeling is discussed, including underlying mechanisms. Following Austin, it is suggested that folk concepts of emotion are built into the semantics of the labels, reflecting a process of lexical sedimentation of emotional experience. Based on the notion of design features, the emotion-specific GRID paradigm is proposed, operationalizing word meanings by feature profiles encompassing all components of the emotion construct.

Keywords : emotion definition componential approaches component process model design features lexical sedimentation