Berlin Emotional Responses to Risk Instrument (BERRI)

Abstract

The Berlin Emotional Responses to Risk Instrument (BERRI; Petrova et al., 2023) is a concise, 6-item psychometric tool designed to assess Anticipatory Affective Reactions—both positive and negative—to decision-relevant information concerning costs, benefits, and risks. The scale development drew upon foundational studies in Risk Communication, leading to the selection of three positive items (assured, hopeful, relieved) and three negative items (anxious, afraid, worried).

Validation of the BERRI spanned seven distinct studies involving diverse adult samples from the United States, Spain, and Poland, with items translated into Polish and Spanish. The instrument demonstrated high reliability and validity, including strong evidence for a two-factor structure confirmed by both exploratory and Factor Analysis. Designed for efficiency, the BERRI requires approximately one minute for administration, making it highly suitable for rapid assessment in research and applied settings related to decision science.

Keywords

Anticipatory Affective Reactions, Decision Making, Divergent Validity, Negative Emotions, Positive Emotions, Risk Communication, Risk Perception, Psychometrics, Factor Analysis, Test Sensitivity.

Authors

Petrova, Dafina, Cokely, Edward T., Sobkow, Agata, Traczyk, Jakub, Garrido, Dunia, Garcia-Retamero, Rocio.

Purpose

The fundamental purpose of the BERRI is to provide researchers and practitioners with an accurate and time-efficient method for measuring generalized Anticipatory Affective Reactions. These emotional responses are critical for understanding how individuals process and react to decision-relevant information about potential outcomes, whether favorable (benefits) or unfavorable (costs and risks).

By assessing both positive (BERRI-pos) and negative (BERRI-neg) emotional dimensions separately, the instrument allows for a nuanced understanding of the affective landscape influencing decision making and the effectiveness of Risk Communication strategies.

Construct

The BERRI measures the psychological construct of Anticipatory Affective Responses to Risk. This construct refers to the immediate, visceral feelings (emotions) experienced when an individual receives information about potential future outcomes, particularly those involving uncertainty or risk. It is conceptualized as a two-dimensional structure:

• Positive Affective Reactions (BERRI-pos): Feelings associated with favorable or reassuring outcomes, such as relief, hope, and assurance.

• Negative Affective Reactions (BERRI-neg): Feelings associated with unfavorable or threatening outcomes, such as anxiety, fear, and worry.

The scale’s underlying theory posits that these positive and negative affective responses function as distinct, non-overlapping constructs, a position strongly supported by empirical evidence demonstrating their low correlation (discriminant validity).

Validity

The validity of the BERRI was established through multiple rigorous psychometric assessments, confirming its ability to measure the intended constructs and relate appropriately to external variables.

• Test Sensitivity: Both the BERRI-pos and BERRI-neg factors demonstrated high sensitivity to critical decision parameters. Outcome severity explained approximately 20% of the variance in BERRI scores (partial η² of 0.18 for BERRI-neg and 0.20 for BERRI-pos). Outcome probability proved even more influential, accounting for roughly 40% of the variance (partial η² of 0.36 for BERRI-neg and 0.43 for BERRI-pos).

• Predictive Validity: The BERRI-pos component was identified as a strong positive predictor of relevant criterion variables, evidenced by high Pearson correlations (> 0.70). Conversely, the BERRI-neg component showed only weak correlations with these variables.

• Convergent and Divergent Validity: The discriminant validity of the scale was confirmed by the finding that BERRI-pos and BERRI-neg components were virtually uncorrelated (r = 0.02, p = 0.593). Furthermore, the BERRI-pos factor consistently exhibited a stronger relationship with risk-taking propensity across all domains compared to BERRI-neg, supporting its convergent validity with related constructs.

Reliability

The reliability of the BERRI was established through assessments of internal consistency and stability over time (test-retest reliability).

• Internal Consistency: Across all validation studies, the consistency of items within each subscale was deemed good. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients for both the positive and negative factors consistently surpassed the threshold of 0.65.

• Test-Retest Reliability: The stability of the scores was assessed over a two-week interval. Correlations between scores in the two sessions ranged moderately from 0.40 to 0.59, suggesting acceptable test-retest reliability and score stability over short periods.

Factor Analysis

Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were utilized to establish and confirm the underlying dimensional structure of the BERRI, providing strong empirical support for the scale’s design.

• Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA): A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) resulted in a clear two-component solution. These two components collectively explained 67% of the total variance, with eigenvalues of 5.6 and 3.8 respectively, providing initial evidence for the positive/negative affective split.

• Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA): The CFA procedures further confirmed that a two-factor model for the BERRI scale provided the best statistical fit to the collected data, solidifying the empirical support for its intended structure of distinct positive and negative affective reactions.

Instrument

Test Type: Original Inventory/Questionnaire

Format: The BERRI is a brief, 6-item scale. Items are primarily rated on a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 = Not at all to 7 = Extremely. The Polish version utilized a 9-point scale (1 = Not at all to 9 = Extremely). Administration is typically electronic and requires minimal time.

Language Available: English, Polish, Spanish

Population Group: Human (Male and Female)

Age Group: Adulthood (18 yrs & older), including Young Adulthood (18-29 yrs), Thirties (30-39 yrs), Middle Age (40-64 yrs), Aged (65 yrs & older), and Very Old (85 yrs & older).

Population Details: Data were collected from diverse adult samples located in Poland, Spain, and the United States.

Test Methodology: The methodology included extensive psychometric testing: Test Validity (Convergent Validity, Discriminant Validity, Predictive Validity), Test Reliability (Internal Consistency, Test-Retest Reliability), and Factor Analysis (Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Exploratory Factor Analysis).

Keywords

Anticipatory Affective Reactions, Decision Making, Divergent Validity, Negative Emotions, Positive Emotions, Risk Communication, Risk Perception, Risks, Psychometrics, Factor Analysis.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: 0000-0002-0346-6776 (Petrova, Dafina)

Affiliation Email addresses: [email protected], [email protected]

Correspondence Address: Cuesta del Observatorio 4, Granada, Spain, 18071 (Petrova, Dafina)

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The following information details the administrative status of the BERRI:

• Permissions: Contact Corresponding Author (Petrova, Dafina)

• Fee: No

• Test Year: 2023

• Commercial: No

Reference’s

No data is Available in the source material.

Items of the Berlin Emotional Responses to Risk Instrument (BERRI)

The Berlin Emotional Responses to Risk Instrument (BERRI) is a 6-item measure composed of two factors:

• Positive (BERRI-pos):

  • Assured

  • Hopeful

  • Relieved

• Negative (BERRI-neg):

  • Anxious

  • Afraid

  • Worried

The items are rated on a Likert scale, with the English version using a 7-point scale (1 = Not at all to 7 = Extremely) and the Polish version using a 9-point scale (1 = Not at all to 9 = Extremely). The items are administered electronically.