Post-Exposure Negative Affect

What it measures

Four unipolar items assess negative emotional states—disappointment, annoyance, guilt, and self-criticism—experienced following exposure to a stimulus.

Response format

7-point unipolar Likert (1=not at all, 7=extremely)

Scale items

• disappointed
• annoyed
• guilty
• self-critical

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Originated with Elliot and Devine (1994), who reported alpha = .75 in a cognitive dissonance context. Spangenberg et al. (2003) reported alpha = .88 in an advertising context. Originally designed to capture psychological discomfort from dissonance; subsequently adapted for ad and product exposure studies.

Citation

Elliot, A. J., & Devine, P. G. (1994). On the motivational nature of cognitive dissonance: Dissonance as psychological discomfort. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(3), 382–394.

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