Database of Emotional Videos from Ottawa (DEVO)

Abstract

We present a collection of emotional video clips that can be used in ways similar to static images (e.g., the International Affective Picture System, IAPS; Lang, Bradley, & Cuthbert, 2008). The Database of Emotional Videos from Ottawa (DEVO) includes 291 brief video clips (mean duration = 5.42 s; SD = 2.89 s; range = 3–15 s) extracted from obscure sources to reduce their familiarity and to avoid influencing participants’ emotional responses. In Study 1, ratings of valence and arousal (measured with the Self Assessment Manikins from IAPS) and impact (Croucher, Calder, Ramponi, Barnard, & Murphy, 2011) were collected from 154 participants (82 women; mean age = 19.88 years; SD = 2.83 years), in a between-subjects design to avoid potential halo effects across the three ratings (Saal, Downey, & Lahey, 1980). Ratings collected online in a new set of 124 students with a within-subjects design (Study 2) were significantly correlated with the original sample’s. The clips were unfamiliar, having been seen previously by fewer than 2% of participants on average. The ratings consistently revealed the expected U-shaped relationships between valence and arousal/impact, and a strong positive correlation between arousal and impact. Hierarchical cluster analysis of the Study 1 ratings suggested seven groups of clips varying in valence, arousal, and impact, although the Study 2 ratings suggested five groups of clips. These clips should prove useful for a wide range of research on emotion and behaviour.

Keywords

• emotion
• films
• valence
• arousal
• impact
• familiarity