A three-item scale measuring a person's positive affective state at a specific point in time, capturing feelings of joy and elation rather than a generalised positive valence. Items are single adjectives rated on a nine-point response scale anchored at 'none' (0) and 'more than ever' (8). Participants typically rate the extent to which they experienced each feeling during or immediately after a task or experimental induction. The scale is used to differentiate specific positive emotions (happiness versus love, hope, and compassion) and their differential effects on prosocial behaviour, and has been employed as a state-level emotional outcome measure in experimental consumer research. Cavanaugh et al. (2015) report alpha = .90; Dunn and Schweitzer (2005), the likely original source using the same three items, report alpha = .87.
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The scale's origin was not explicitly stated by Cavanaugh et al. (2015), though Dunn and Schweitzer (2005) is the likely source based on identical item wording. The exact instructions used by Cavanaugh et al. were not reported; participants appear to have rated the extent to which they experienced each feeling during the task just completed. The scale should be distinguished from the Subjective Happiness Scale (id:398), which measures dispositional, trait-level happiness rather than momentary affective state. Because items are single adjectives rather than full sentences, the instrument functions similarly to an affect checklist; researchers using it alongside multi-item affect batteries should verify discriminant validity from related positive emotion measures.
Cavanaugh, L. A., Bettman, J. R., & Luce, M. F. (2015). Feeling love and doing more for distant others: Specific positive emotions differentially affect prosocial consumption. Journal of Marketing Research, 52(5), 657–673.
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