Partitioning the variability of daily emotion dynamics in dyadic interactions with a mixed-effects location scale model

In this study we examined daily fluctuations of emotions among individuals in dyads using a mixed-effects location scale model. Our analyses indicate:•The emotional ups and downs of individuals in dyads can be characterized as a function of their own affect and that of their partners.•Both the between-person and the within-person variance over time can be partitioned.•The model residuals, representing within-person variation over time, differed as a function of weather, such as the amplitude of the emotion fluctuations was smaller on hotter days.

We examine the daily exchanges in affect and emotional experiences of individuals in dyads using a mixed-effects location scale model. We argue that this method is useful to characterize the daily fluctuations in emotions for each individual as well as their interrelations over time. Furthermore, we illustrate how to consider the potential effect of factors external to the dyads' emotion dynamics, an aspect often ignored in emotion research. In particular, we show how daily weather may influence within-person variability of affect toward one's relationship, beyond the influence of one's and the partner's affect. We interpret our findings in the context of emotion research and methodology for dyadic interactions.