Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE)

Abstract

The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) is a concise, 12-item self-report questionnaire designed to measure a broad spectrum of positive and negative affective states experienced over the past four weeks. Developed by Diener and colleagues in 2009, the scale yields three distinct scores: a positive feelings score (SPANE-P), a negative feelings score (SPANE-N), and an overall Affect Balance score (SPANE-B). SPANE was created to overcome limitations of earlier emotion measures by assessing a wide range of feelings, rather than being restricted to specific types, and has demonstrated strong convergence with other measures of emotions and well-being.

Keywords

SPANE, Positive affect, Negative affect, Affect balance, Emotional well-being, Ed Diener, Psychological assessment, Subjective well-being.

Authors

Diener, Ed; Wirtz, D.; Tov, W.; Kim-Prieto, C.; Choi. D.; Oishi, S.; Biswas-Diener, R.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the SPANE is to provide a brief yet comprehensive measure of an individual’s affective experience, capturing both the frequency of positive and negative feelings experienced over the preceding month. It is specifically designed to assess global emotional states that contribute significantly to subjective well-being research, offering a valuable tool for monitoring emotional changes over time.

Unlike scales that focus narrowly on specific emotions, the SPANE aims to capture a broad range of experiences, allowing researchers to study the relative independence of positive and negative affect dimensions, which is crucial for a complete understanding of psychological functioning and individual differences in emotional experience.

Construct

The SPANE primarily measures the construct of **Affective Experience** or **Emotional Well-being**. It operates under the premise that well-being is comprised of distinct, partially independent components: the frequency of positive emotional experiences and the frequency of negative emotional experiences. This model acknowledges that an individual can experience both high positive and high negative affect simultaneously, though the SPANE is primarily concerned with the balance over the recent past.

The scale items are grouped into two facets: six items assessing positive feelings (e.g., joyful, contented) and six items assessing negative feelings (e.g., sad, angry). The difference score (SPANE-B) reflects the overall balance of these affective states, serving as a robust indicator of an individual’s current emotional quality of life within the framework of positive psychology.

Validity

Although the source material does not explicitly detail various forms of validity, it notes that the scale “converges well with measures of emotions and affective well-being.” This statement provides evidence for the scale’s **convergent validity**, demonstrating that it correlates appropriately with established instruments measuring similar constructs.

The strong correlation between SPANE scores and validated measures of emotional states confirms that the SPANE effectively measures the psychological constructs it intends to assess. Furthermore, its design—assessing a broad range of experiences over a specific temporal frame (the past four weeks)—enhances its ecological validity and relevance to real-world affective functioning, making it a powerful tool in psychometrics.

Reliability

The reliability of the SPANE has been established through internal consistency measures and temporal stability procedures. The source indicates that the **Cronbach alpha** of the scale is reported as “good,” suggesting a high degree of internal consistency among the 12 items. This signifies that the items reliably measure the same underlying construct within the positive and negative subscales.

Additionally, the **temporal reliability** (stability over time) is described as “moderately high” across a one-month period. This finding is expected for an affective measure, as feelings are inherently dynamic and should show some fluctuation over time. High reliability across diverse populations further supports the scale’s robust measurement properties.

Factor Analysis

The original psychometric commentary highlights the importance of conducting a **factor analysis** despite the good internal consistency demonstrated by the Cronbach alpha. A high alpha value alone is consistent with the existence of more than one underlying factor, necessitating structural analysis.

The theoretical structure of the SPANE posits a two-factor model, reflecting the intended empirical separation of positive and negative affect. Subsequent research confirms this structure, supporting the scoring mechanism where SPANE-P and SPANE-N scales are scored separately due to the partial independence or separability observed in empirical studies of the two types of feelings, aligning with best practices in psychometrics.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire / Affective assessment tool

Format: 12 items, 5-point Likert scale (1 = Very Rarely or Never to 5 = Very Often or Always)

Language Available: English (Original); widely translated and validated in numerous other languages globally.

Population Group: General population; used extensively across diverse adult samples.

Age Group: Adolescents (typically 16+) and Adults.

Population Details: Originally validated on diverse samples, including college students and international populations, demonstrating strong cross-cultural utility.

Test Methodology: Respondents recall and rate the frequency of specific feelings experienced during the **past four weeks**.

Keywords

Emotional measurement, Psychometrics, Affective balance, Positive psychology, Diener, Subjective experience, Feeling frequency.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The SPANE was developed and published in **2009**. The copyright is held by Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener (January 2009).

The scale is generally intended for non-commercial research and educational use and is often available freely for these purposes, provided proper citation is given to the original source. For commercial use or inclusion in proprietary software, specific permission from the authors may be required.

Reference’s

Diener, E., Wirtz, D., Tov, W., Kim-Prieto, C., Choi. D., Oishi, S., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2009). New measures of well-being: Flourishing and positive and negative feelings. Social Indicators Research, 39, 247-266.

Items of the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE)

© Copyright by Ed Diener and Robert Biswas-Diener, January 2009.

Please think about what you have been doing and experiencing during the past four weeks. Then report how much you experienced each of the following feelings, using the scale below. For each item, select a number from 1 to 5, and indicate that number on your response sheet.

1. Very Rarely or Never
2. Rarely
3. Sometimes
4. Often
5. Very Often or Always

Positive Negative Good Bad Pleasant Unpleasant Happy Sad Afraid Joyful Angry Contented

The measure can be used to derive an overall affect balance score, but can also be divided into positive and negative feelings scales.

Positive Feelings (SPANE-P): Add the scores, varying from 1 to 5, for the six items: positive, good, pleasant, happy, joyful, and contented. The score can vary from 6 (lowest possible) to 30 (highest positive feelings score).

Negative Feelings (SPANE-N): Add the scores, varying from 1 to 5, for the six items: negative, bad, unpleasant, sad, afraid, and angry. The score can vary from 6 (lowest possible) to 30 (highest negative feelings score).

Affect Balance (SPANE-B): The negative feelings score is subtracted from the positive feelings score, and the resultant difference score can vary from -24 (unhappiest possible) to 24 (highest affect balance possible). A respondent with a very high score of 24 reports that she or he rarely or never experiences any of the negative feelings, and very often or always has all of the positive feelings.