Embracing Subjectivity in Affective Research: Naturalistic and Controlled Settings

This paper suggests cultivating and modeling individual variation in research on affect and emotion, emphasizing the importance of studying real-world contexts to reveal their individualized nature. We propose a new standard for study design using more flexible and context-aware methods that emphasize modeling of high-dimensional signal arrays within individuals and then inductively learning generalizations rather than presuming their existence. We compare laboratory and real-life settings for the study of affect and emotion and highlight opportunities for studying individual variation structured by context. We discuss current challenges and future directions therein and emphasize the need for interdisciplinary and international collaboration and leveraging new technologies.