title: The epistemic benefits of trait-consistent mood states: an analysis of extraversion and mood.
abstract: One must consider both trait and state affect to predict individual differences in emotional processing. The present results document a novel trait-state interaction that is consistent with proposals concerning the epistemic functions of affect (A. R. Damasio, 1994). Four studies tested the effects of extraversion and mood on motivation-relevant processing. Study 1 measured naturally occurring mood, whereas Studies 2-4 manipulated mood. Extraverts were faster to link events to their personal motivations when in a positive mood state, whereas introverts were faster to do so in a neutral or negative mood state. Further findings indicate that this interaction affects attitude accessibility rather than event elaboration. Overall, the authors suggest that there are pragmatic benefits to trait-consistent moods, particularly for processing motivation-relevant stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 61820, USA. tamir@s.psych.uiuc.edu
authors.forename: Maya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tamir
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: Gerald L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Clore
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009042:Motivation; D011930:Reaction Time; D012044:Regression Analysis