Induced Mood and Selective Attention

Subjects (N = 60) were randomly assigned to an elated, depressed, or neutral mood-induction condition to assess the effect of mood state on cognitive functioning. In the elated condition film fragments expressing happiness and euphoria were shown. In the depressed condition some frightening and distressing film fragments were presented. The neutral group watched no film. Mood states were measured using the Profile of Mood States, and a Stroop task assessed selective attention. Both were presented by computer. The induction groups differed significantly in the expected direction on the mood subscales Anger, Tension, Depression, Vigour, and Fatigue, and also in the mean scale response times, i.e., slower responses for the depressed condition and faster for the elated one. Differences between conditions were found in the errors on the Stroop: in the depressed condition were the fewest errors and significantly longer error reaction times. Speed of error was associated with self-reported fatigue.

[1]  H. Ellis,et al.  Mood state effects on thought listing , 1990 .

[2]  Walter Schneider,et al.  Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending and a general theory. , 1977 .

[3]  D. Ryman,et al.  Computer Response Time Measurements of Mood, Fatigue and Symptom Scale Items: Implications for Scale Response Time Uses. , 1988 .

[4]  Henry C. Ellis,et al.  The "state" of mood and memory research: A selective review. , 1989 .

[5]  A. N. Brand,et al.  Recall and recognition memory deficits in depression. , 1992, Journal of affective disorders.

[6]  E. Velten.  A laboratory task for induction of mood states. , 1968, Behaviour research and therapy.

[7]  P. H. Blaney.  Affect and memory: a review. , 1986, Psychological bulletin.

[8]  Ellis Hc,et al.  Emotional mood states and retrieval in episodic memory. , 1985 .

[9]  R. Melkman,et al.  The self-control of emotional reactions to a stressful film. , 1972, Journal of personality.

[10]  Peter Salovey,et al.  Mood and memory: Evaluating the network theory of affect , 1988 .

[11]  F. Hesse,et al.  Experimental inductions of emotional states and their effectiveness: A review , 1994 .

[12]  M. Eysenck,et al.  Attention and Arousal , 1982 .

[13]  N. Brand,et al.  Information processing efficiency and noise. Interactions with personal rigidity , 1995 .

[14]  H. Ellis,et al.  Emotional mood states and retrieval in episodic memory. , 1985, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[15]  Maryanne Martin.  On the induction of mood , 1990 .

[16]  F. McKenna,et al.  A speech rate measure of laboratory induced affect: the role of demand characteristics revisited. , 1994, The British journal of clinical psychology.

[17]  A. Isen,et al.  Some Specific Effects of Four Affect-Induction Procedures , 1983 .

[18]  G. Bower.  Mood and memory. , 1981, The American psychologist.

[19]  P. Houx,et al.  MINDS: Toward a computerized test battery for use in health psychological and neuropsychological assessment , 1992 .

[20]  H. Ellis,et al.  Emotional mood states and memory: elaborative encoding, semantic processing, and cognitive effort. , 1984, Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition.

[21]  Richard Lynn,et al.  Attention and arousal , 1983 .