THE UNDERLYING STRUCTURE OF EMOTIONS: A TRI-DIMENSIONAL MODEL OF CORE AFFECT AND EMOTION CONCEPTS FOR SPORTS

RESUMO

Alexander T. Latinjak

This paper presents a theoretical approach to a new tri-dimensional model of core affect and emotion concepts. Former models (e.g., Russell, 1980) have placed specific emotion concepts along a circumplex model of core affect defined by two basic dimensions: Arousal, which ranges from high to low, and Valence, which varies from positive to negative. In order to cope with the problem of overlapping emotion concepts inside these models, a third dimension, namely Time Perspective, has been added. Using all three dimensions, it was possible to place 20 specific emotion concepts inside the tri-dimensional model. However, there are several considerations to be taken into account with this new model, such as the essence of core affect, the simplistic nature of the model and the way this model fits into current sport psychology literature. Overall, this model might not only offer a conceptual framework for future research, but it could also be a useful tool for applied sport psychology.