
The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is a self-report questionnaire that assesses an individual's mood. It was developed in 1988 by researchers from the University of Minnesota and Southern Methodist University, including David Watson, Lee Anna Clark, and Auke Tellegen. The PANAS scale consists of two 10-item scales, one for positive affect and the other for negative affect, with each item rated on a 5-point scale from very slightly to extremely. The questionnaire takes around 5 to 10 minutes to complete and is used in both clinical and research settings. The final score is calculated by summing the scores from each scale, with higher scores indicating more positive or negative emotions, respectively.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Type | Self-report questionnaire |
| Format | Two 10-item scales |
| Scoring | 5-point scale from 1 ("very slightly" or "not at all") to 5 ("extremely" or "very much") |
| Time to complete | 5-10 minutes |
| Positive Affect Score | Sum of scores on items 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, and 19; scores range from 10-50 |
| Negative Affect Score | Sum of scores on items 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, and 20; scores range from 10-50 |
| Variations | PANAS-C (for children), PANAS-X, PANAS-SF, I-PANAS-SF |
| Use | Research tool, clinical and non-clinical populations |
| Developers | David Watson, Lee Anna Clark, and Auke Tellegen (1988) |
| Purpose | To measure positive and negative affect, providing a better marker of mood than previous scales |
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What You'll Learn

Scoring the Positive Affect
The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is a self-report questionnaire that consists of two 10-item scales to measure both positive and negative affect. The PANAS-X is a more refined version of the test, developed by Watson and Clark in 1994, that can be completed in a much shorter time of approximately 10 minutes. The PANAS-X measures both Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA), along with 11 primary affects: fear, sadness, guilt, hostility, shyness, fatigue, surprise, joviality, self-assurance, attentiveness, and serenity.
The PANAS questionnaire takes around 5 to 10 minutes to complete, as participants rate each item based on how they have felt recently. This short timeframe makes it convenient for clinical and research settings where quick assessments are needed. The PANAS score is separated into the Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) scores, with a higher score indicating more positive or negative affect, respectively. Higher scores on the PA scale are worthy of attention, such as in the case of manic patients, but the principal clinical concern is with patients who show very low levels of positive affect, or anhedonia.
To calculate PANAS scores, participants rate each of the 20 emotion-related items on a 5-point scale from "very slightly" to "extremely". The Positive Affect items are 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, and 19, and higher scores represent higher levels of PA, associated with pleasurable engagement with the environment. The PANAS has been reported to have good internal consistency reliability, with alphas ranging from 0.85 to 0.90 for Positive Affect.
The PANAS is a useful tool for therapists interested in tracking changes in positive and negative emotions for clients from week to week. It is sensitive to momentary changes in affect and can be used to chart the immediate effects of therapy sessions and outcomes associated with positive psychological interventions. The PANAS has been validated in several languages and has shown excellent psychometric properties in the general population and some clinical samples. However, it is important to note that as a self-report questionnaire, it can be challenging to accurately assess people's moods, as they may overstate or understate their experiences.
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Scoring the Negative Affect
The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is a self-report questionnaire that consists of two 10-item scales to measure both positive and negative affect. The PANAS was created by mood researchers David Watson, Lee Anna Clark, and Auke Tellegen in 1988.
The PANAS questionnaire takes around 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Participants rate each item based on how they have felt recently, using a 5-point scale from "very slightly" to "extremely" or from 1 ("not at all") to 5 ("very much"). The Positive Affect and Negative Affect scores are then summed separately, with higher scores in each category indicating a greater intensity of positive or negative emotions, respectively.
The PANAS-X is an extended version of the test, developed in 1994 by Watson and Clark, with 60 items. The first section contains basic negative emotions such as guilt, sadness, and fear. The second section contains positive emotions such as self-assurance, attentiveness, and joviality. The third section involves other affective states such as surprise, serenity, and shyness.
The PANAS-C is a 27-item version of the PANAS for use with children. It was created to differentiate the affective expressions of anxiety and depression in children. This version consists of 12 positive affect terms and 15 negative affect terms.
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Limitations of the PANAS
The PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Schedule) is a widely used psychological tool designed to measure two broad dimensions of emotional experience: positive affect and negative affect. Despite its popularity, the PANAS has several limitations.
One of the main limitations of the PANAS is its reliance on self-report measures. As a self-report questionnaire, it can be challenging to assess people's moods accurately as individuals may overstate or understate their emotional experiences. The PANAS also only assesses current emotional states and may not capture longer-term emotional experiences. This limitation may be addressed by using multiple timeframes in the questionnaire, such as assessing moods in the moment, during the day, the past few days, the past week, and so on.
Another limitation of the PANAS is its limited applicability to diverse cultural and ethnic groups. While the PANAS has been translated into several languages, some translations may not be exact semantic replicas of the original English version. For example, certain words or emotions may have different connotations or no straightforward translation in other languages. Cultural differences in emotional expression and the internal structure of the PANAS may also vary between cultures, impacting the interpretation of responses.
Furthermore, the PANAS has been criticized for its length and redundancy. Some studies have suggested that the PANAS is too long, with redundant items, and that shorter versions may be more effective. This led to the development of shortened forms, such as the PANAS-SF and I-PANAS-SF, which aim to provide a shorter and more concise scale while maintaining reliability and validity.
Additionally, the PANAS was originally developed using a limited sample size of college students, raising concerns about its wide applicability to other populations. Further evaluations and studies are needed to assess the validity and reliability of the PANAS across diverse cultural, ethnic, and demographic groups.
Despite these limitations, the PANAS remains a valuable tool for measuring positive and negative emotions and has been widely utilized in both research and clinical contexts.
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The PANAS-SF
The I-PANAS-SF, created by Edmund Thompson, is a 10-item mood scale designed for international implementation. It aims to provide clarity to the content of the items, reduce ambiguities, and address the limitations of the original PANAS. The I-PANAS-SF has been found to have high correlations with the original PANAS and can be used as a reliable and valid instrument on an international scale.
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The PANAS-X
These 11 emotional states are broken down into three main categories: basic negative emotion scales, basic positive emotion scales, and other affective states. The basic negative emotion scales consist of fear, hostility, guilt, and sadness. The basic positive emotion scales consist of joviality, self-assurance, and attentiveness. The other affective states consist of shyness, fatigue, serenity, and surprise.
Through extensive analyses, all 11 affective states, except surprise, were shown to be stable and valid measures that assess how an individual's emotional states fluctuate over time. The PANAS-X has been found to be a reliable tool for assessing long-term individual differences in affect, with strong correlations to corresponding measures of aggregated state affect and personality.
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Frequently asked questions
The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) is a self-report questionnaire that consists of two 10-item scales to measure both positive and negative emotions.
First, select a timespan. Then, read each item and choose a number from the Likert scale to indicate how you are feeling. The scale ranges from "very slightly" or "not at all" to "extremely".
To calculate your PANAS scores, sum the scores for the positive and negative affect items separately. The positive affect items are 1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, and 19. The negative affect items are 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15, 18, and 20. Scores can range from 10–50, with higher scores indicating more intense emotions.
As a self-report questionnaire, the PANAS relies on participants' subjective assessments of their moods, which may not always be accurate. The original PANAS also had a limited sample size of college students, raising questions about its applicability to other populations. Some studies have also criticised the PANAS for being too long or redundant.










































