理想情感是人们期望获得的情感状态。情感评估理论认为文化对理想情感的塑造有着重要影响, 主要的影响途径有文化体验、文化价值观和社会文化变化。理想情感对个体会产生具有文化特异性的影响, 主要会影响个体的偏好及选择行为、混合情绪体验、身心健康和社会认知决策。理想情感研究未来发展可以着眼于4个方向: 使用纵向视角研究理想情感, 进一步探索理想情感的前因变量, 打造适合中国文化的心理健康标准和通过认识理想情感来消除文化隔阂。

Ideal affect refers to the desired affective state people want to achieve. Affect valuation theory stresses that culture has an important impact on shaping ideal affect, which is mainly through cultural exposure, cultural values, and social cultural changes. Ideal affect also has culture-specific impacts on individuals’ preference and choice behaviors, mixed emotional experiences, physical and mental health, and social judgment. Future directions for this line of research should focus on investigating ideal affect from a longitudinal perspective, investigating other antecedents of ideal affect, developing the criteria for mental health assessment that is suitable for Chinese culture, and reducing cultural misunderstandings through understanding ideal affect.