Affective States and the Influence of Activated General Knowledge

Abstract

Two studies examined the impact of information activation on individuals in different mood states. In Experiment 1, happy, neutral, or sad subjects judged whether certain attributes (behaviors or traits) apply to a particular target. Prior trait judgments decreased the time for judging behaviors exemplifying the trait, particularly for happy but not for sad subjects. In Experiment 2, happy or sad subjects indicated whether the same or a semantically related stimulus had already been presented. Sad subjects responded relatively faster than happy subjects after corresponding information had previously been activated. Additional analyses reveal that both patterns are not due to different response tendencies. The results suggest that happy mood supports judgmental inferences based on general knowledge structures, whereas sad mood facilitates the conservation of information.