Happy mood decreases self-focused attention

Research addressing the influence of happy mood on self‐focused attention has yielded inconsistent results. Some studies found that happy mood decreased self‐focus relative to sad mood. Other studies did not detect a significant difference between happy and neutral mood, and still other studies foun...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:British journal of social psychology 2003-03, Vol.42 (1), p.147-157
Main Authors: Green, Jeffrey D., Sedikides, Constantine, Saltzberg, Judith A., Wood, Joanne V., Forzano, Lori-Ann B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affect
Affectivity. Emotion
Attention
Biological and medical sciences
Depression - psychology
Emotions
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Happiness
Humans
Internal-External Control
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Mood
Moods
Pain Measurement
Personality
Personality. Affectivity
Psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Research Design
Self Concept
Selffocused attention
Social Perception
Social psychology
Students - psychology
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Summary:Research addressing the influence of happy mood on self‐focused attention has yielded inconsistent results. Some studies found that happy mood decreased self‐focus relative to sad mood. Other studies did not detect a significant difference between happy and neutral mood, and still other studies found that happy mood, relative to neutral mood, increased self‐focus. These investigations have potential shortcomings, such as an insufficiently powerful happy mood induction and a confound between visualization mood inductions and self‐focus itself. The present experiment addressed these shortcomings by inducing mood via musical selections, equalizing the approximate potency between happy and sad moods, and using a within‐participants design. Relative to neutral mood, happy mood decreased self‐focused attention.
ISSN:0144-6665
2044-8309
DOI:10.1348/014466603763276171