The Emotional Flow Scale: Validating a Measure of Dynamic Emotional Experiences in Message Reception

Abstract

ABSTRACT The dynamics of the emotional experience during message consumption, referred to as emotional flow, is hypothesized to be an important and influential element of message reception processes. In this article, we propose and validate a scale for measuring self-reported experiences of emotional flow following exposure to a message. Items were derived from Nabi and Green’s initial theorizing and the final 6-item measurement model demonstrated good fit using data from seven studies (NTotal  = 2,626). Measurement invariance tests supported the stability of the scale across written versus audio-visual narrative stimuli, participant sex and age, and two sample populations (student versus non-student). Finally, we present evidence of construct validity through an experimental study that manipulated and assessed emotional shifts during exposure to media content, where the scale was able to account for these emotional shifts. These findings suggest that the Emotional Flow Scale provides a valid instrument for measuring experiences of emotional flow.