EmoStim: A Database of Emotional Film Clips with Discrete and Componential Assessment

Abstract

Emotion elicitation using emotional film clips is one of the most common and ecologically valid methods in Affective Computing. However, selecting and validating appropriate materials that evoke a range of emotions is challenging. Here we present EmoStim: A Database of Emotional Film Clips as a film library with a rich and varied content. EmoStim is designed for researchers interested in studying emotions in relation to either discrete or componential models of emotion. To create the database, 139 film clips were selected from literature and then annotated by 638 participants through the CrowdFlower platform. We selected 99 film clips based on the distribution of subjective ratings that effectively distinguished between emotions defined by the discrete model. We show that the selected film clips reliably induce a range of specific emotions according to the discrete model. Further, we describe relationships between emotions, emotion organization in the componential space, and underlying dimensions representing emotional experience. The EmoStim database and participant annotations are freely available for research purposes. The database can be used to enrich our understanding of emotions further and serve as a guide to select or create additional materials.