Table 1 ESM questions used to compute variables for different domains

Negative affect

Negative affect was based on the average score of 5 items. “I feel irritated,” “I feel anxious,” “I feel insecure,” “I feel guilty,” “I feel down.” These items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7. Mean score of the 5 items was taken to compute the negative affect value, with higher scores representing higher negative affect.

Positive affect

Negative affect was based on the average score of 3 items. “I feel Cheerful,” “I feel relaxed,” “I feel enthusiastic.” These items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7. Mean score of the 3 items was taken to compute the positive affect value, with higher scores representing higher positive affect.

Psychotic experiences

Momentary psychotic experiences were based on the average score of items. “I feel unreal” and “I feel suspicious.” These items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7. Mean score of the 2 items was taken to compute the momentary psychotic experiences value, with higher scores representing higher psychotic experiences.

Social stress

Social stress was based on the appraisal of the current social context (i.e., only when participants reported that they were in the company of at least another person). The mean of the following items were used: “This company is pleasant (reversed score for analyses),” “I would rather be alone,” and “I feel judged by this company.” These items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7, with higher scores representing higher social stress.

Alone stress

Alone stress was based on the appraisal of current aloneness (i.e., only when participants reported that they were alone). The mean of the following items were used: “I enjoy being alone (reversed score for analyses),” “I feel alone,” and “I would rather be in the company of someone.” These items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7, with higher scores representing higher alone stress.

Activity-related stress

Activity-related stress was based on the average score of 2 items. “Think of the activity you were doing before the beep” (1) “I like doing this activity (reversed score for analyses)” and (2) “This activity is difficult for me.” These items were rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7. Mean score of the 2 items was taken to compute the activity-related stress value, with higher scores representing higher activity-related stress.

Event-related stress

Event-related stress was based on the item. “Think of the most important event that happened since the last beep: this event was pleasant.” This item was initially rated on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from −3 (very unpleasant) to 3 (very pleasant) and was transformed to a 4-point Likert scale ranging from 0 (pleasant to neutral events) to 3 (very unpleasant) for the analyses. Higher scores were thus representing higher event-related stress.