Which statement about a dimensional model of affect is correct?

Which statement about a dimensional model of affect is correct?

• A. It posits affect along discrete categories.
• B. It emphasizes that emotions are fixed states.
• C. It posits that affect is organized along continuous dimensions of valence and arousal.
• D. It denies any relationship to physiological responses.

Answer: (C)

The main idea here is that affect is imagined as a continuous landscape, not a set of separate boxes. In the dimensional model, affect is organized along two ongoing axes: valence and arousal. Valence is how pleasant or unpleasant the feeling is, while arousal is how activated or calm you feel. This two-dimensional framework, often called the circumplex model of affect, lets emotions blend into combinations like pleasant and high arousal (excited) or unpleasant and low arousal (bored). Because arousal links to bodily activation, this view naturally ties emotion to physiological responses, rather than denying any bodily connection. This perspective supports a flexible, gradient understanding of feelings rather than insisting that emotions are fixed, discrete states. The other statements don’t fit as well because they imply a different picture: discrete categories reflect basic-emotions theories, not a continuous dimensional approach; claiming emotions are fixed states clashes with the idea of gradual variation along the axes; and denying any link to physiology ignores the well-established ties between arousal and physiological activation.

The main idea here is that affect is imagined as a continuous landscape, not a set of separate boxes. In the dimensional model, affect is organized along two ongoing axes: valence and arousal. Valence is how pleasant or unpleasant the feeling is, while arousal is how activated or calm you feel. This two-dimensional framework, often called the circumplex model of affect, lets emotions blend into combinations like pleasant and high arousal (excited) or unpleasant and low arousal (bored). Because arousal links to bodily activation, this view naturally ties emotion to physiological responses, rather than denying any bodily connection. This perspective supports a flexible, gradient understanding of feelings rather than insisting that emotions are fixed, discrete states.

The other statements don’t fit as well because they imply a different picture: discrete categories reflect basic-emotions theories, not a continuous dimensional approach; claiming emotions are fixed states clashes with the idea of gradual variation along the axes; and denying any link to physiology ignores the well-established ties between arousal and physiological activation.