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Valence, or hedonic tone, is the affective quality referring to the intrinsic attractiveness/"good"-ness or averseness/"bad"-ness of an event, object, or situation. The term also characterizes and categorizes specific emotions. For example, emotions popularly referred to as "negative", such as anger and fear, have negative valence. Joy has positive valence. Positively valenced emotions are evoked by positively valenced events, objects, or situations. The term is also used to describe the hedonic tone of feelings, affect, certain behaviors , goal attainment or nonattainment, and conformity with or violation of norms. Ambivalence can be viewed as conflict between positive and negative valence-carriers.
Theorists taking a valence-based approach to studying affect, judgment, and choice posit that emotions with the same valence produce a similar influence on judgments and choices. Suffering is negative valence and the opposite of this is pleasure or happiness. Suffering can mean all unpleasant emotions.