Homogenization of Classification Functions Measurement (HOCFUN): A Method for Measuring the Salience of Emotional Arousal in Thinking

Abstract

The problem of the measurement of emotion is a widely debated one. In this article we propose an instrument, the Homogenization of Classification Functions Measure (HOCFUN), designed for assessing the influence of emotional arousal on a rating task consisting of the evaluation of a sequence of images. The instrument defines an indicator (κ) that measures the degree of homogenization of the ratings given over 2 rating scales (pleasant–unpleasant and relevant– irrelevant). Such a degree of homogenization is interpreted as the effect of emotional arousal on thinking and therefore lends itself to be used as a marker of emotional arousal. A preliminary study of validation was implemented. The association of the κ indicator with 3 additional indicators was analyzed. Consistent with the hypotheses, the κ indicator proved to be associated, even if weakly and nonlinearly, with a marker of the homogenization of classification functions derived from a separate rating task and with 2 indirect indicators of emotional activation: the speed of performance on the HOCFUN task and an indicator of mood intensity. Taken as a whole, such results provide initial evidence supporting the HOCFUN construct validity.

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“…Fourthly, items are associated to response modes that force the respondent further to take a stance with respect to contrasting positions. This makes the structure of the response isomorphic to the oppositional structure of the dimensions of sense that we intend to detect [ 20 , 31 ].…”

“…the experience of the place where they live, the micro-social context, the trustworthiness of local services, the vision of the country’s future) in a sufficiently stable and homogeneous way regardless of the semantic linkages among them. Accordingly, any symbolic universe can be identified by means of a procedure of pattern recognition–namely as a pattern of co-occurring signs whose reciprocal association is not (or is only weakly) justified by semantic linkages and therefore can be interpreted as due to the homogenizing and generalizing action of the symbolic universe, namely the symbolic universe’s capacity of activating affective, pre-semantic linkages among signs [ 19 – 20 ].…”

QUASUS: A Tool for Measuring the Parents’ School Satisfaction

“…This means that the global satisfaction has to be considered an overarching affect-laden feeling, which connotes the experience of relation with the school as a whole. Consistently with the psychological theory that highlights the homogenizing valence of the affects (e.g., Salvatore and Freda, 2011; Tonti and Salvatore, 2015; Salvatore et al, 2018), the semantic differences among the three items composing the index are backgrounded, being rather considered by the respondents as equivalent expression of the generalized attitude toward the school.…”

From the manifestations of culture to the underlying sensemaking process. The contribution of semiotic cultural psychology theory to the interpretation of socio‐political scenario

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