The International System of Emotional Images: A cross-cultural validation study in the Moroccan environment

Conclusion

The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) is a database of standardized images used in the study of emotion and attention, and this study sought to investigate the reliability and validity of these images to elicit emotions in Moroccans. Therefore, 123 Moroccan students (75 females; age range: 18-51) belonging to the Department of Psychology at Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdallah University in Fez, assessed the pleasure, arousal, and dominance of 238 representative IEPS images using the Self-Assessment Module (SAM). Reliability values showed significant internal consistency in participants’ ratings. Comparison results between the ratings of our sample and the US sample showed significant correlations (0.94 for pleasure, 0.75 for dominance, 0.70 for arousal) indicating that the ratings of the two samples are similar. Furthermore, the distribution of the images evaluated in the emotional space of pleasure and arousal materialized in the form of a rotating wing as in the American sample, with greater clarity in the Moroccan sample. These results confirm the validity of using IPS images to elicit the emotions of Moroccans.