Differential Emotions Scale (DES-IV, Izard)
PsychologyReliability: alphas 0.65–0.83 across 10 emotions3 sample items
About this scale
A 30-item measure of 10 fundamental discrete emotions: interest, joy, surprise, sadness, anger, disgust, contempt, fear, shame/shyness, guilt. Each emotion has 3 items.
Sample item(s)
“Feel happy (joy)”
“Feel angry, irritated, annoyed (anger)”
“Feel afraid, scared, fearful (fear)”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alphas 0.65–0.83 across 10 emotions. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
Foundational discrete-emotion measure; complements PANAS.
Source & citation
Izard, C. E., Libero, D. Z., Putnam, P., & Haynes, O. M. (1993): Stability of emotion experiences and their relations to traits of personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 64, No. 5, pp. 847–860.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
Use it in your research
Need to check the reliability or psychometrics of this scale in your own data? Use the free DrAIStudio research tools:
Cronbach’s alpha calculator
All statistical calculators
Search the full Scale Atlas
Academic writing humanizer