Induction Of Depressed Mood Research Articles

Effects of Induced Mood on Social Cognitions

Previous studies have shown that depressed persons make negative interpretations of social stimuli. In the present study normal undergraduates were exposed to elated or depressed mood-induction procedures and were asked to interpret drawings of social situations. Subjects rated their own stories on a pleasantness-unpleasantness scale. The stories were also transcribed and rated by independent judges. Both the ratings of judges and subjects differed for elated and depressed subjects. The data suggest that mood may alter social perceptions in important ways and that these effects can be observed in normal persons after a brief mood-altering experience. The results are related to cognitive theories of depression.

Emotional mood states, strategies, and state-dependency in memory

The effects of experimentally induced mood states on recall and chunking of letter sequences were examined in two experiments. Both experiments focused on the role of depressed mood induction on recall, the interaction between mood and varied versus repetitious spatial groupings of letter sequences, and transfer of coding strategies. In addition, state-dependent retention effects of mood state were examined in the second experiment. Depressed mood hindered both recall and chunking. The mood state induced on day 1 recall determined subsequent recall of a new list 24 hours later, indicating the transfer of coding strategies. State-dependent retention effects were obtained only with delayed recognition. Mood effects on recall are discussed in terms of cognitive rigidity and interference which result in reduced task-relevant processing capacity and/or reduced cognitive effort for task-specific demands.