Valence is central to the experience of emotion. However, to the detriment of affective science, it is often ill-defined and poorly operationalized. Being more precise about what is meant by valence would make for more readily comparable emotion stimuli, methodologies, and results, and would promote consideration of the diversity, complexity, and function of discrete emotions. This brief review uses prior literature and an informal survey of affective scientists to illustrate disagreements in conceptualizing valence. Next, we describe issues of valence in affective science, particularly as they pertain to the emotion process, the functions of emotion, and precision in empirical research. We conclude by providing recommendations for the future of valence in affective science.

This chapter summarizes developmental theories and research on the intersection of culture, biology, and moral emotions. It proposes that cultural canalizations might be evident for the neurobiology of moral emotions, such as empathy and sympathy, in distinct U.S. ethnic/racial minority groups, focusing particularly on work with U.S. Latino/a children and adolescents. Research on cultural (e.g., ethnic identity, cultural values), socialization (e.g., parenting styles, parent and peer attachment), and neurobiological mechanisms linked to moral emotions is summarized. The authors advocate for developmental scientists interested in the development of moral emotions in U.S. Latino/a children, and in other ethnic and cultural communities (e.g., African Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans), to adopt a developmental cultural neurobiology lens in order to advance a more expansive, inclusive, and nuanced understanding of the diverse paths of the development of moral emotions.

Research over the past decades has demonstrated the explanatory power of emotions, feelings, motivations, moods, and other affective processes when trying to understand and predict how we think and behave. In this consensus article, we ask: has the increasingly recognized impact of affective phenomena ushered in a new era, the era of affectivism?