All for one or one for all? Examining a parsing of emotion that is informed by lay people’s values

A system of values define how lay people behave and view the world. Critical to this system are the contrasting values of self-enhancement and self-transcendence, which differ in the degree to which they promote the pursuit of one’s own interests versus the interests of others. The present research investigated an alternative way of parsing emotion (valence x self-serving/other-serving) informed by these opposing values. In Study 1, findings from multidimensional scaling analyses supported the structural validity of self-and other-serving emotions. In Study 2, different groupings of self-and other-serving emotions were associated with interpersonally relevant traits. In Study 3, data gathered from informant report largely replicated findings regarding the importance of self-and other-serving emotions to individual difference variables. Further, self-serving and other-serving emotions were associated with self-enhancing and self-transcendent goals, respectively. In Study 4, using a daily diary design, experiencing self-serving emotions was most strongly associated with self-enhancing goals, whereas experiencing other-serving emotions was most strongly associated with self-transcendent goals.