TITLE:
A Validation Study of the German Versions of the Feeling Scale and the Felt Arousal Scale for a Passive Relaxation Technique (Autogenic Training)
AUTHORS:
Kristin Thorenz, Andre Berwinkel, Matthias Weigelt
KEYWORDS:
Feeling Scale, Felt Arousal Scale, Autogenic Training, Affective Responses
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.14 No.6,
June
30,
2023
ABSTRACT: To measure the affective responses during high-intensity and moderate-intensity exercises, the single-item questionnaires Feeling Scale (FS) and Felt Arousal Scale (FAS) are often used. The aim of the present study was to examine the validation of the German versions of the FS and the FAS by Maibach et al. (2020) for autogenic training (AT), which is an exercise addressing the lowest end of physical activation. Therefore, 224 participants (135 females and 89 males, mean age = 21.8 ± 2.2) took part in a 45-minute AT exercise. Before and after the exercise, they completed three questionnaires: The FS and the FAS by Maibach et al. (2020) and the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) by Bradley and Lang (1994). The subscale pleasure (SAM-P) and the subscale arousal (SAM-A) of the SAM were used for a self-other comparison to proof the construct validity for the FS and the FAS. For the convergent validity, the results show positive significant correlations between the FS and SAM-P (r = 0.62, p 2 = 0.38) and the FAS and SAM-A (r = 0.25, p 2 = 0.06). For the discriminant validity, the FS and SAM-A, as well as the FAS and SAM-P did not correlate significantly, whereas a negative significant correlation was found between the FS and the FAS (r = -0.20, p 2 = 0.04). The pattern of results confirms the validity of the German translations of the FS and the FAS for the passive relaxation technique AT.