Measuring emotional experiences using the experience sampling method

Abstract

This article reviews existing literatures that measure emotional experiences via the experience sampling method (ESM), and discusses prospects of using ESM for emotion studies. This review suggests that ESM can reveal multiple aspects of emotional experiences: namely, momentary affect/emotions, emotion variability, emotion differentiation, and emotion network density. Hence, the ESM provides a powerful approach to advance emotion studies; however, there are also points to keep in mind. Lastly, this article addresses points of caution for using ESM to study emotions, and discusses prospects of this methodology.