Date of Award

Spring 2026

Abstract

Key features of emotional complexity include emotional granularity, the ability to identify feelings with precision; emodiversity, the number and evenness of different emotions experienced; and emotion covariation, the tendency to experience positive and negative emotions independently. Prior work has largely treated these features as trait-like. This dissertation examines whether these features are dynamic by investigating how they vary within individuals over time and across contexts. In Chapter 2, participants (N =123) reported their emotions multiple times a day for 6 weeks and completed biweekly assessments of mental health symptoms. Emotional granularity and covariation increased over time, whereas emodiversity decreased, and these shifts tracked with changes in mental health symptoms. In Chapter 3, a secondary analysis using the same sample examined whether these features vary across daily contexts. During the paradigm described above, participants also reported their current activities (e.g., work, leisure) and social context (e.g., alone, with others). Results revealed that contextual factors such as who people are with and what they were doing are related to differences in features of emotional complexity. In Chapter 4, an experimental study tested whether different social contexts directly cause changes in these features. Participants (N = 76) reported their emotions after viewing evocative films while alone, in the presence of others, or interacting with others. Results partially replicate the observational findings, indicating that social context shapes some of the features of emotional complexity in the moment. Such shifts may reflect one way by which individuals are fine-tuning their emotional experiences to meet context-specific needs. This dissertation combines experience sampling and experimental methods to demonstrate that emotional granularity, emotion covariation, and emodiversity are dynamic and context sensitive. This work supports theories emphasizing the contextual nature of emotion and identifies these features as potential targets for improving mental health.

Document Type

Dissertation

First Advisor

Jolie B Wormwood

Second Advisor

John D Mayer

Third Advisor

Michelle D Leichtman

Department or Program

Psychology

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

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