The role of dysphoric mood and gender in interpersonal responses to nondysphoric others.

Abstract

There now exists a sizeable body of research on interpersonal responses to dysphoric individuals, yet relatively few studies have addressed responses of dysphoric individuals toward others. This study compared responses of dysphoric and nondysphoric individuals toward a nondysphoric person within same sex and opposite-sex dyads. Dysphoric and nondysphoric subjects did not differ in their desire for future interaction with their interactional partner. Dysphoric subjects reported a greater reduction in feelings of sadness, hostility, and impatience following the interaction, and among dysphoric subjects, those who interacted with a female reported a greater decrease in anxiety than did those who interacted with a male. Dysphoric subjects also perceived their partners to act in a more dysphoric fashion than did nondysphoric subjects.