[The determination of emotional resource potentials--psychometric analysis of a test for the assessment of individual emotional experiencing].

We introduce a test for the assessment of individual emotional resources (BER). The BER can be used to induce positive emotional experiences in both an individual and group setting. These experiences are then in a second step rated by the individuals in terms of their immediate intensity as well as their occurrence in everyday life. We examined the psychometric properties of the BER in a non-clinical student sample (n = 614) and a clinical sample of psychotherapy inpatients (n = 164). Reliabilities ranged from 0.75 to 0.89 (internal consistency) and 0.68 to 0.71 (retest). Neither age or gender, nor group size were related to the BER scores. Some empirical support was found for the expected two factorial structure. The correlations of the BER with related psychological constructs and the comparison of non clinical and clinical scores indicate good convergent and discriminant validity. According to the correlational analyses, emotional experiences induced by the BER seem not to be activated via direct hypnotic induction. They rather seem to be connected to an individual's capability of mental imagery. Implications of this novel approach for the assessment of emotional resources in research and clinical practice are discussed.