Applicability of the International Affective Picture System in Chinese older adults: A validation study

The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) is a standardized tool widely used to induce emotions in psychological studies. The present study examined the reliability and validity of the IAPS in Chinese older adults. A sample consisting of 126 Chinese older adults (86 females; aged 67.3 ± 4.96 years; 13.2 ± 2.75 years of education) was recruited to rate valence and arousal for 942 IAPS pictures. The results showed a satisfactory reliability and validity of the IAPS among these participants. The reliability was supported by high internal consistency and low inter-individual variance of participants' ratings; the validity was supported by high similarities (in rating scores and in the distribution of the pictures in the valence-arousal affective space) and small differences (in mean ratings) between Chinese and German older adults. In conclusion, the study adds supportive evidence to the cross-cultural validity of the IAPS in older adults, and provides a set of normative emotional ratings that could be adopted as a criterion in the selection of emotional pictures in future studies engaging Chinese older adults. Comparison of the IAPS ratings across cultures and ages is also discussed.