Abstract

The pivotal role of transient affect (i.e., mood) in human functioning is well established (Clore, Schwarz, & Conway, 1994; Fiedler & Bless, in press; Forgas, 1992, 1995). Mood influences judgment, memory, and behavior. ¹ 1

Our review excludes experiments that involve misattribution of mood states or experiments that manipulate the degree to which participants are aware of their mood states (e.g., Clore, Gaspar, & Garvin, chap. 6, this volume; Smith, chap. 4, this volume; Levine, Wyer, & Schwarz, 1994; Martin, Abend, Sedikides, & Green, 1997). Also, our review excludes experiments in which the mood-induction task was actually a failure or success experience based on task performance feedback (e.g., McFarland & Buehler, 1997, 1998).

Specifically, mood states modify social judgments such as person and couple impressions, attributions for success or failure, and attitudes or beliefs. Moods affect memory and decision making (e.g., bargaining strategies), and change behavior, such as type of requests (i.e., polite or impolite) and intergroup discrimination. In addition, moods influence selfcognitions defined as judgments about the self (i.e., self-perceptions or self-evaluations), recall of autobiographical knowledge, or expectancies of self-relevant outcomes.