We explored the perceptual structure of facial expressions of six basic emotions, varying systematically in intensity, in adults and children aged 7 and 14 years. Multidimensional scaling suggested that three- or four-dimensional structures were optimal for all groups. Two groups of adults demonstrated nearly identical structure, which had…

An alternative content method, allowing bipolar representation and based on separate scaling of quality and intensity, is presented. For comparative purposes the method was used together with a distance method and an ordinary content method, with nine words denoting emotions as stimuli. (Author)