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Description: Among a wide spectrum of models of emotions, there is a consensus that the underlying core construct of affect consists of two dominant dimensions. This two-dimensional view is incorporated in the two major frameworks of affect: Russell’s (1980) valence-arousal circumplex (V-A); and the positive and negative activation systems, also known as positive and negative affect (PA and NA, respectively) (Watson et al., 1999). The PA-NA is believed to be an orthogonal 45° rotation of the valence-arousal circumplex. In this study, by analyzing different experience sampling datasets of self-reported momentary emotions (Dejonckheere et al., 2019), we investigated possible constructs for momentary affect. We used principal component analysis and various latent trait modeling methods, including item response theory. Preliminary results suggest that variability of momentary affect is different at the between-person level than the within-person level. Individual differences among participants can be explained by a two-dimensional construct (although not necessarily similar to V-A or PA-NA). At the within-person level, the latent structure is considerably simpler. This implies that the two-factor models of emotions that rely on valence and arousal (or their linear transformations, such as PA-NA) cannot account for both within- and between-person variability of momentary emotions.