Valence

The positive-to-negative dimension of an emotion — whether the affect being experienced is pleasant or unpleasant.

In affective science, valence is the axis that runs from highly negative (fear, sadness, disgust) through neutral to highly positive (joy, contentment). It is one of two primary dimensions in the circumplex model of affect, paired with arousal.

Some analytics platforms output a model-generated valence score on a continuous scale rather than a discrete label. The score is a computational estimate, not proof of a person's felt experience.

Related terms: arousal, emotion ai, seven universal emotions

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