Valence (psychology)


Valence, or hedonic tone, is the affective quality referring to the intrinsic attractiveness/"good"-ness or averseness/"bad"-ness of an event, object, or situation. The term also characterizes and categorizes specific emotions. For example, emotions popularly referred to as "negative", such as anger and fear, have negative valence. Joy has positive valence. Positively valenced emotions are evoked by positively valenced events, objects, or situations. The term is also used to describe the hedonic tone of feelings, affect, certain behaviors, goal attainment or nonattainment, and conformity with or violation of norms. Ambivalence can be viewed as conflict between positive and negative valence-carriers.
Theorists taking a valence-based approach to studying affect, judgment, and choice posit that emotions with the same valence produce a similar influence on judgments and choices. Suffering is negative valence and the opposite of this is pleasure or happiness. Suffering can mean all unpleasant emotions.

History of usage

The term entered English in psychology with the translation from German in 1935 of works of Kurt Lewin.

Criterion for emotion

Valence is one criterion used in some definitions of emotion. The possible absence of valence is cited as a reason to exclude surprise from the list of emotions, though some would include it. Trnka suggested in his research assess "the valence of 10 given negative emotions - disgust, anger, sadness, fear, contempt, hate, disappointment, jealousy, envy and guilt."

Measurement

Valence could be assigned a number and treated as if it were measured, but the validity of a measurement based on a subjective report is questionable. Measurement based on observations of facial expressions, using the Facial Action Coding System and microexpressions or muscle activity detected through facial electromyography, or on modern functional brain imaging may overcome this objection. Emotional valence is represented in right posterior superior temporal sulcus and medial prefrontal cortex.