Negative mood, self-focused attention, and the experience of physical symptoms: the joint impact hypothesis.
A joint impact hypothesis on symptom experience is introduced that specifies the role of negative mood and self-focus, which have been considered independently in previous research. Accordingly, negative affect only promotes symptom experience when people simultaneously focus their attention on the self. One correlational study and 4 experiments supported this prediction: Only negative mood combined with self-focus facilitated the experience (see the self-reports in Studies 1, 2a, & 2b) and the accessibility (lexical decisions, Stroop task in Studies 3 & 4) of physical symptoms, whereas neither positive mood nor negative mood without self-focus did. Furthermore, the joint impact of negative mood and self-focused attention on momentary symptom experience remained significant after controlling for the influence of dispositional symptom reporting and neuroticism.
Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. guido.gendolla@pse.unige.ch
Guido H E
GH
Gendolla
Andrea E
AE
Abele
Andrea
A
Andrei
Daniel
D
Spurk
Michael
M
Richter
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001288:Attention; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept