How mood influences systematic information processing.

Abstract

Do moods influence the quality of information processing in tasks of importance to organizations? In recent years, researchers have proposed several accounts of how mood influences systematic information processing. The goal of this laboratory experiment was to conduct a simultaneous test of three models of influences of mood on systematic information processing in the context of performance appraisal. The mood-as-information model predicted that an unpleasant mood would lead to more systematic information processing than a pleasant mood. The hedonic contingency model predicted that the influence of mood would depend on expected mood-altering properties of the task. The mood-as-input model predicted that the influence of mood would depend on contextual decision rules for expending effort on the task. A total of 379 participants watched an affectively-laden movie and then read instructions for a performance appraisal task. Participants evaluated a consultant's report on whether to give a University President a raise. Systematic information processing was based on the extent to which participants distinguished between strong and weak appraisee performance. Results revealed a complex pattern of findings that suggest that individuals processed information more systematically when in an unpleasant mood than when in a pleasant mood, in line with the mood-as-information model, when the context called for high performance. Furthermore, individuals processed information depending on the expected mood-altering properties of the task, in line with the hedonic contingency model, when the context called for high enjoyment---that is, individuals processed tasks expected to be unpleasant better when in an unpleasant mood than when in a pleasant mood but individuals processed tasks expected to be pleasant as systematically in unpleasant and pleasant moods. The results contribute to our understanding of how mood influences systematic information processing by revealing when and why different processes concerning mood and cognition operate.