Mood effects on decision making strategies

Abstract

Are social decisions influenced by mood? In this study, subjects feeling happy, sad, or neutral were asked to select a partner from eight potential candidates, either for themselves (personally relevant condition) or for another subject (personally irrelevant condition). Each target was described in a detailed “personnel file,” covering both task and interpersonal skills. Decision sequences and outcomes were carefully recorded and analysed. Results showed that (a) mood influenced decision outcomes, with sad subjects preferring rewarding choices more than did happy or control subjects; (b) positive mood resulted in faster and more efficient decisions, but only when the outcome was not personally relevant: (c) sad subjects concentrated more on interpersonal information, took longer to reach a decision. and were less likely to use an elimination by aspects strategy. Mood effects were generally dependent on the personal relevance of the decision. The results are discussed in terms of contemporary theories of mood effects on cognition, and the need for taking social and motivational as well as cognitive variables into account in such models is considered. The implications of the findings for everyday decisions are discussed.