An experience-sampling study on the relevance of affect dynamics to paranoid ideation.

A fast-growing body of evidence from experience sampling studies suggests that affect dynamics are associated with well-being and psychological health. But heterogeneity in experience sampling approaches impedes reproducibility and scientific progress. Leveraging a large dataset of 7016 individuals, each providing over 50 affect reports, we introduce an empirically-derived framework to help researchers design well-powered and efficient experience sampling studies. Our research reveals three general principles. First, a sample of 200 participants and 20 observations per person yields sufficient power to detect medium size associations for most affect dynamic measures. Second, for trait and time-independent variability measures of affect (e.g., S.D.), distant sampling study designs (i.e., a few daily measurements spread out over several weeks) leads to more accurate estimates than close sampling study designs (i.e., several daily measurements concentrated over a few days), whereas differences in accuracy across sampling methods were inconsistent and of little practical significance for temporally dependent affect dynamic measures (i.e., RMSSD, autocorrelation coefficient, TKEO, and PAC). Third, across all affect dynamics measures, sampling exclusively on specific days or time windows leads to little to no improvement over sampling at random times. Because the ideal sampling approach varies for each affect dynamics measure, we provide a companion R-package, an online calculator, and a series of benchmark effect sizes to help researchers address three fundamental how’s of experience-sampling: How many participants to recruit? How often to solicit them? And for how long?

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Emotional Variability Predicts Tiredness in Daily Life

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000206 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 37 (3) ◽

pp. 181-193 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Aire Mill ◽

Anu Realo ◽

Jüri Allik

Keyword(s):

Sampling Method ◽

Daily Life ◽

Emotional Experience ◽

Experience Sampling ◽

Experience Sampling Method ◽

Building Blocks ◽

Intraindividual Variability ◽

Unique Role ◽

Over Time

Abstract. Intraindividual variability, along with the more frequently studied between-person variability, has been argued to be one of the basic building blocks of emotional experience. The aim of the current study is to examine whether intraindividual variability in affect predicts tiredness in daily life. Intraindividual variability in affect was studied with the experience sampling method in a group of 110 participants (aged between 19 and 84 years) during 14 consecutive days on seven randomly determined occasions per day. The results suggest that affect variability is a stable construct over time and situations. Our findings also demonstrate that intraindividual variability in affect has a unique role in predicting increased levels of tiredness at the momentary level as well at the level of individuals.

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Psychometric Properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000470 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (6) ◽

pp. 878-890 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

David Marcusson-Clavertz ◽

Oscar N. E. Kjell

Keyword(s):

Anxiety Disorder ◽

Psychometric Properties ◽

Generalized Anxiety Disorder ◽

Social Desirability ◽

Cognitive Task ◽

Experience Sampling ◽

Well Being ◽

Mind Wandering ◽

Generalized Anxiety ◽

Psychological Variables

Abstract. Thinking about task-unrelated matters (mind wandering) is related to cognition and well-being. However, the relations between mind wandering and other psychological variables may depend on whether the former commence spontaneously or deliberately. The current two studies investigated the psychometric properties of the Spontaneous and Deliberate Mind Wandering Scales (SDMWS; Carriere, Seli, & Smilek, 2013 ). Study 1 evaluated the stability of the scales over 2 weeks ( N = 284 at Time 1), whereas Study 2 ( N = 323) evaluated their relations to Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, Openness, Social desirability, and experience-sampling reports of intentional and unintentional mind wandering during an online cognitive task. The results indicated that the SDMWS were better fitted with a two-factor than a one-factor solution, although the fit was improved with the exclusion of one item. The scales exhibited strong measurement invariance across gender and time, and moderately high test-retest reliability. Spontaneous mind wandering predicted Generalized anxiety disorder and experience-sampling reports of unintentional mind wandering, whereas Deliberate mind wandering predicted Openness and experience-sampling reports of intentional mind wandering. Furthermore, Spontaneous mind wandering showed a negative association with social desirability of weak-to-medium strength. In sum, the scales generally showed favorable psychometric properties.

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