Mood-congruent judgment is a general effect
Abstract
Mood congruency refers to a match in affective content between a person's mood and his or her thoughts. The mood-congruent judgment effect states in part that attributes will be judged more characteristic, and events more likely, under conditions of mood congruence. Thus, the happy person will believe good weather is more likely than bad weather (relative to such a judgment in a state of mood incongruence). Three studies showed that the effect generalizes to non-self-relevant judgments with natural mood. Study 1 (N = 202) generalized it across a variety of specific emotions, Study 2 (N = 1,065) generalized it across a variety of tasks, and Study 3 (N = 524) generalized it to a nonlaboratory, statewide sample. The 3 studies redefine mood-congruent judgment more broadly and thereby inform the debate about its underlying mechanisms. The relation between mood-congruent judgment and personality is discussed.
Department
Psychology
Publication Date
7-1-1992
Journal Title
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Mayer, J. D., Gaschke, Y., Braverman, D. L., & Evans, T. (1992). Mood-congruent judgment is a general effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 119-132.