Interpretation bias is associated with differentiation of emotions between and within valence categories

The ability to distinguish between discrete emotions, known as emotion differentiation, is often associated with favorable emotional outcomes, such as more effective and frequent use of emotion regulation and lower alexithymia. Here, we modified a novel task-based method of emotion differentiation, EmoMap, to assess valence differentiation-the ability to distinguish between positive and negative categories, particularly in the context of dual-valence ambiguity (i.e., stimuli that convey both positive and negative meaning). We validated this task in part by establishing its relationships with expected correlates of differentiation, including emotion regulation and alexithymia. We then examined how one's ability to differentiate between valence categories relates to valence bias, which represents one's tendency toward more positive or negative interpretations of emotionally ambiguous stimuli. Results revealed that less differentiation between ambiguous and clearly positive stimuli and more differentiation within these categories were associated with a more positive valence bias. These results highlight the role of differentiation in valence judgments by demonstrating a link between explicit judgments, in which participants categorize emotional stimuli according to valence, and incidental judgments, in which they are evaluating the similarity in feelings evoked by those emotional stimuli. Having rich conceptualizations of ambiguity and positivity that overlap may allow individuals to more readily produce positive interpretations of emotional ambiguity in daily life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).