Examining the validity and reliability of an abridged version of the perceived affect utility scale (PAUSe)

The present research presents evidence of the validity and reliability of an abbreviated version of the Perceived Affect Utility Scale (PAUSe). In Study 1, findings using item response theory (IRT) led to the deletion of one-third of the number of items in the PAUSe. Results from confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the structure of the abbreviated version of the PAUSe, the PAUSe-r. Examining effect sizes between the PAUSe-r and instruments measuring personality, emotion, and depression also supported the convergent validity, discriminant validity, and incremental validity of this measure, even after taking into account ideal affect and the actual experience of emotion. In Study 2, test-retest reliability of the PAUSe-r in a sample of college students is presented. In Study 3, using data from a large, nonstudent sample, we replicated the structure of the PAUSe-r, as well as relations between the PAUSe-r and personality variables, that were found in Study 1.