Adaptation of the normative rating procedure for the International Affective Picture System to a remote format

The Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM), a pictorial scale for the measurement of pleasure and arousal dimensions of emotions, is one of the most applied tools in the emotion research field.

We present a detailed description of a remote method to collect affective ratings in response to pictures by using the SAM scale.

To empirically validate our remote method, we conducted a study using a digitized version of the SAM scale and delivered online didactic instructions that followed the normative rating procedure for the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) to the participants. We presented 70 pictures from the IAPS and an additional set of 22 food pictures to the participants.

We found strong correlations between the ratings of IAPS pictures obtained in our sample and those reported by North American and Brazilian participants in previous in-person studies that applied the same pictures and methodology. We were also able to obtain an additional standardized set of food pictures.

The protocols described here may be useful for researchers interested in collecting remotely valid and reliable affecting ratings.