CONSISTENCY, SPECIFICITY, AND CORRELATES OF NEGATIVE EMOTIONS

Four studies with college student participants examined the consistenc y, specificity, and correlates of sadness, fear, and anger. Study 1 me asured emotions with daily diaries, and Study 2 examined the relations hip between trait emotions and state emotions. Studies 1 and 2 indicat ed that specific negative emotions are temporally stable, are positive ly correlated, and provide information above and beyond that provided by other negative emotions. Study 3 found that negative emotions are d ifferentially associated with different facets of cognitive style, as measured by questionnaires that examined dysfunctional attitudes and a ttributions concerning negative events. Study 4 indicated that negativ e emotions are differentially associated with different facets of resp onse style, as measured by the degree to which individuals described t heir thoughts, feelings, and actions in response to hypothetical event s.