Unnoticed intrusions: Dissociations of meta-consciousness in thought suppression

The current research investigates the interaction between thought suppression and individuals’ explicit awareness of their thoughts. Participants in three experiments attempted to suppress thoughts of a prior romantic relationship and their success at doing so was measured using a combination of self-catching and experience-sampling. In addition to thoughts that individuals spontaneously noticed, individuals were frequently caught engaging in thoughts of their previous partner at experience-sampling probes. Furthermore, probe-caught thoughts were: (i) associated with stronger decoupling of attention from the environment, (ii) more likely to occur under cognitive load, (iii) more frequent for individuals with a desire to reconcile, and (iv) associated with individual differences in the tendency to suppress thoughts. Together, these data suggest that individuals can lack meta-awareness that they have begun to think about a topic they are attempting to suppress, providing novel insight into the cognitive processes that are involved in attempting to control undesired mental states.     

Motivation to regulate mood as a mediator between state extraversion and pleasant-unpleasant mood

This experience sampling study investigated whether state extraversion (i.e., momentary extraverted behavior) is positively associated with pleasant affect within persons and whether mood regulation motivation mediates this relationship. Seven times per day for one week, 162 participants reported on their state extraversion, pleasant-unpleasant mood, and mood regulation intention. Higher state extraversion was related to more pleasant mood, and this within-persons relationship held for 89% of individuals. Analyses with lagged predictors revealed that state extraversion predicted an increase in pleasant mood from one occasion to the next. Dispositional extraversion did not moderate the within-persons relationship. Hedonic mood regulation intention mediated the relation between state extraversion and pleasant-unpleasant mood. The findings support a self-regulation explanation of the extraversion-pleasant affect link.     

Manic thinking: independent effects of thought speed and thought content on mood

This experiment found that the speed of thought affects mood. Thought speed was manipulated via participants' paced reading of statements designed to induce either an elated or a depressed mood. Participants not only experienced more positive mood in response to elation than in response to depression statements, but also experienced an independent increase in positive mood when they had been thinking fast rather than slow--for both elation and depression statements. This effect of thought speed extended beyond mood to other experiences often associated with mania (i.e., feelings of power, feelings of creativity, a heightened sense of energy, and inflated self-esteem or grandiosity).     

Understanding the dynamic relationships among personality, mood, and job satisfaction: A field experience sampling study

This study investigated the within-individual relationship between mood and job satisfaction, and examined the role of personality characteristics in moderating this relationship. The design of the study involved an experience sampling methodology (ESM); 27 employees completed mood and job satisfaction surveys at four different times during the day for a period of four weeks, resulting in a total of 1907 observations. Results showed that within-individual variance comprised 36% of the total variance in job satisfaction, and mood explained 29% of the within-individual variance in job satisfaction. Second, mood and job satisfaction were related both within and across individuals. Third, two personality traits—Neuroticism and Extraversion—were associated with average levels of mood. Fourth, within-individual variability in mood was significantly related to within-individual variability in job satisfaction, and variability in both mood and job satisfaction was predicted by Neuroticism. Finally, personality impacted the degree of association between mood and job satisfaction within individuals.     

The link between dispositional pride and creative thinking depends on current mood

Pride has long been considered a characteristic of creative geniuses, but the link between pride and creative thinking has yet to be systematically examined. In Study 1, we found that authentic pride related positively, whereas hubristic pride related negatively to creative thinking, assessed using the Unusual Uses Task, a behavioral measure of creative thinking. In Study 2, we found that the relation between pride and creativity depends on current mood. Specifically, authentic pride was most strongly related to creativity in the happiness condition, whereas hubristic pride was most strongly related to creativity in the anger condition. We discuss implications for understanding the affective processes underlying creativity and the adaptive and maladaptive consequences of pride.     

Emotion regulation and mood brightening in daily life vary with depressive symptom levels

Naturalistic studies of emotional reactivity in depression have repeatedly found larger decreases in negative affect (NA) among depressed individuals in response to daily positive events. This so-called mood-brightening (MB) effect represents a theoretical and empirical oddity. The current study is a secondary analysis investigating whether the MB effect is moderated by spontaneous use of emotion regulation strategies, which have been implicated in the maintenance and modulation of NA in prior work. Participants (N?=?95) representing a large spectrum of depressive symptom severity reported their experiences of NA and the occurrence of positive events in daily life over the course of seven days using the experience sampling method. Our findings replicate and build upon those of prior studies relating to the MB effect in the following ways: (1) we observed the MB effect for specific negative emotions of sadness, anger, anxiety; and (2) we found evidence that the MB effect is moderated by spontaneous use of rumination, distraction, and expressive suppression, which have been shown to enhance or dampen NA. The role of emotion regulation strategies in daily emotional reactivity to pleasant events is discussed.     

Influence of caregiver burden on the association between daily fluctuations in pleasant activities and mood: A daily diary analysis

Much research has focused on behavioral activation and its effect on depression, but less is known about the effects of leisure activities on the two distinct affective domains of depression: positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Furthermore, individual factors (i.e., stress level) may moderate the impact of behavioral activation on affect. The present study utilized a daily diary approach to examine the moderating effect of stress on the relationship between leisure satisfaction and both PA and NA. Twenty-five dementia caregivers completed activity and affect measures four times daily for 14 days. Results were analyzed using multilevel modeling, an approach that considers intra-individual differences in activity and affect over time. Results supported the hypothesis that caregivers with higher burden display a stronger association between leisure satisfaction and affect than caregivers with lower burden. Specifically, caregivers with higher burden had a stronger positive relationship between leisure satisfaction and PA and a stronger negative relationship between leisure satisfaction and NA. These findings suggest that screening caregivers for level of burden may help identify those most likely to benefit from behavioral interventions.     

Thought suppression and its effects on thought frequency, appraisal and mood state in individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Leading models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) implicate thought suppression as a key factor in the escalation and persistence of the disorder. This experiment examined the effects of suppression on the frequency of obsessional thoughts in 50 individuals with a primary diagnosis of OCD, and also investigated the effects of participants' appraisals regarding their failures in thought control on distress about intrusive thoughts and on mood. Participants' most upsetting obsessional thought was primed and they then monitored its occurrence over two 4-min intervals. In the first interval, half of the participants were instructed to suppress their obsessional thought and half were instructed not to suppress any thoughts. In the second interval, all participants were given the 'Do Not Suppress' instructions. Participants rated their suppression effort and discomfort over thought occurrences after each interval and recorded their appraisals of thought recurrences during the first interval. Mood state was then reassessed. No ironic effect of suppression on frequency was noted. However, negative appraisals of thought recurrences were associated with more discomfort over thought occurrences and more negative mood at Time 2. These findings suggest that interpretations regarding failures in thought control may be of central importance in understanding obsessional problems.     

Influence of dysphoria on positive and negative cognitive reactivity to daily mood fluctuations

We used an experience sampling design to investigate the influence of dysphoria on positive and negative cognitive reactivity. Participants recorded their thoughts and mood four times per day on PDA devices for one week. We hypothesized that those higher in dysphoria would demonstrate a greater increase in negative thinking in response to negative mood, and a weaker increase in positive cognitions in response to positive mood. These hypotheses were largely supported. For those participants who reported higher initial dysphoria, there was a stronger association between negative mood and thinking and a weaker link between positive mood and thinking. Regression analyses indicated that positive and negative cognitive reactivity were independently related to dysphoria, suggesting that they represent distinct processes. Our results highlight the importance of understanding levels of both negative and positive cognitive reactivity and underscore the benefits of assessing mood and cognition with repeated measurements in "real-time," in order to better understand the antecedent effects of mood on thinking.     

The relationship between self-report mood and personality

Past research pertaining to personality and mood has been concerned with the relationship between specific personality traits and specific mood states. The present examines the relationship between self-report measures of personality and mood. University students (82 males, 118 females), completed a personality questionnaire consisting of 20 personality bipolar adjectives and a mood inventory measuring six mood dimensions. Factor analysis of the personality adjectives revealed four factors, which were then correlated with the mood scales. Results of this analysis revealed significant correlations between the personality factors and mood dimensions suggesting that personality is related to some aspects of mood.     

Temporal focus,temporal distance,and mind-wandering valence: Results from an experience sampling and an experimental study

When mind-wandering, people may think about events that happened in the past, or events that may happen in the future. Using experience sampling, we first aimed to replicate the finding that future-oriented thoughts show a greater positivity bias than past-oriented thoughts. Furthermore, we investigated whether there is a relation between the temporal distance of past- and future-oriented thoughts and the frequency of positive thoughts, a factor that has received little attention in previous work. Second, we experimentally investigated the relation between temporal focus, temporal distance, and thought valence. Both studies showed that future-oriented thoughts were more positive compared to past-oriented thoughts. Regarding temporal distance, thoughts about the distant past and future were more positive than thoughts about the near past and future in the experiment. However, the experience sampling study did not provide clear insight into this relation. Potential theoretical and methodological explanations for these findings are discussed.     

Frequency,characteristics, and perceived functions of emotional future thinking in daily life

While many thoughts and mental images that people form about their personal future refer to emotionally significant events, there is still little empirical data on the frequency and nature of emotional future-oriented thoughts (EmoFTs) that occur in natural settings. In the present study, participants recorded EmoFTs occurring in daily life and rated their characteristics, emotional properties, and perceived functions. The results showed that EmoFTs are frequent, occur in various contexts, and are perceived to fulfil important functions, mostly related to goal pursuit and emotion regulation. When distinguishing between anticipatory and anticipated emotions (i.e., emotions experienced in the present versus emotions expected to occur in the future), a positivity bias in the frequency of EmoFTs was found to be restricted to anticipated emotions. The representational format and perceived function of EmoFTs varied according to their affective valence, and the intensity of anticipatory and anticipated emotions were influenced by the personal importance and amount of visual imagery of EmoFTs. Mood states preceding EmoFTs influenced their emotional components, which, in turn, impacted ensuing mood states. Overall, these findings shed further light on the emotional properties of future-oriented thoughts that are experienced in daily life.     

Understanding the relationship between mood and creativity: A meta-analysis

A meta-analysis of 62 experimental and 10 non-experimental studies was conducted to evaluate the positive-mood-enhances-creativity generalization. While the results demonstrate that positive mood enhances creativity, the strength of that effect is contingent upon the comparative or referent mood state (i.e., neutral or negative mood) as well as the type of creative task. Further, the pattern of effect sizes supports a curvilinear relationship between affective intensity and creative performance. In general, a contextual perspective of mood–creativity relations is supported.     

The relationship between daily events and mood: The mood measure may matter

Measures of daily mood have been used as immediate indicators of the effects of the psychosocial environment, the latter concept often measured by daily events. We examined the prediction of two measures of daily mood, the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Nowlis Mood Adjective Checklist (MACL), by daily desirable and undesirable events and by day of the week. Unlike prior studies, the event assessment and type of subjects studied (community residents) were the same in both studies, allowing an attribution of differential associations between the two mood scales and either daily events or day of the week to the different mood measures. The mood measures had similar and expected associations with daily events, although the MACL scale generally had stronger associations with events. Surprisingly, the pattern of day of the week effects for positive, yet not negative, mood were different for the two mood measures. Consistent with the weekend's increase in desirable daily events, MACL positive affectincreased on weekends, relative to weekdays, whereas PANAS positive mooddecreased on weekends. Also, for both positive and negative affect scales, the MACL scales had stronger associations with day of week than the PANAS scales. These results suggest caution in the choice of mood measure to use in studies of daily events and pose questions about the meaning of these mood measures.This work was supported, in part, by grant MH39234 from NIMH. The authors thank two anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.     

Mood and the mundane: relations between daily life events and self-reported mood

Daily mood ratings and corresponding diary entries were studied to determine relations between common events and two independent mood factors--Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA)--in a sample of 18 young adults over a 3-month period. In an extension of findings from earlier interindividual studies, PA (enthusiastic, delighted vs. sluggish, drowsy) was found to be associated with a wide range of daily events, whereas fewer correlations were found between these events and NA (distressed, nervous, angry vs. calm, relaxed). The relation between high PA and reported social interactions (particularly physically active social events) was especially robust, and its effects were noted repeatedly; NA was unrelated to social activity. As hypothesized, high NA was associated with physical problems; contrary to expectations, low PA also tended to be correlated with health complaints. Overall, the results reaffirm the importance of assessing NA and PA independently and suggest that PA is an interesting and important dimension that deserves more research attention. Theoretical considerations and clinical implications are discussed.     

Reinforcement sensitivity theory predicts positive and negative affect in daily life

Laboratory studies of Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory have associated sensitivity to punishment (SP) with negative affect and sensitivity to reward (SR) with positive affect. However, few studies have examined the expression of these systems and their response to cues of reward in daily life. The current study employed experience sampling methodology (ESM) to assess the association of SP and SR with affect and perceptions of situations in daily life. SP was positively associated with negative affect and negatively associated with positive affect in daily life, whereas SR was associated with positive affect and one aspect of negative affect, irritability/anger. Furthermore, high SP participants experienced smaller increases in positive affect and smaller decreases in negative affect in some situations that were perceived as positive, in comparison to low SP participants. In contrast, high SR participants experienced greater decreases in negative affect in some situations that were perceived as positive, in comparison to low SR participants.     

Context effects in marketing practice: the case of mood

The role of individuals' affective state on information processing and decision making has attracted the attention of researchers in the social sciences. Building on the findings reported in the literature, the authors examine the effects of mood on marketing practice. Implications for advertising practices as well as the potential manipulation of elements of the physical store/retail environment (atmospherics) in which consumers operate in order to affect behaviour are discussed. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications.     

Exploring the relation between visual mental imagery and affect in the daily life of previously depressed and never depressed individuals

Previously depressed individuals experience disturbances in affect. Affective disturbances may be related to visual mental imagery, given that imagery-based processing of emotional stimuli causes stronger affective responses than verbal processing in experimental laboratory studies. However, the role of imagery-based processing in everyday life is unknown. This study assessed mental imagery in the daily life of previously and never depressed individuals. Higher levels of visual mental imagery was hypothesised to be associated with more affective reactivity to both negatively and positively valenced mental representations.

This study was the first to explore mental imagery in daily life using experience sampling methodology. Previously depressed (n?=?10) and matched never depressed (n?=?11) individuals participated in this study. Momentary affect and imagery-based processing were assessed using the “Imagine your mood” smartphone application. Participants recorded on average 136 momentary reports over a period of 8 weeks.

The expected association between visual mental imagery and affective reactivity was not found. Unexpectedly, in both previously and never depressed individuals, higher levels of imagery-based processing of mental representations in daily life were significantly associated with better momentary mood and more positive affect, regardless of valence.

The causality of effects remains to be examined in future studies.     

Manipulating the temporal locus and content of mind-wandering

The human brain has a tendency to drift into the realm of internally-generated thoughts that are unbound by space and time. The term mind-wandering (MW) is often used describe such thoughts when they are perceptually decoupled. Evidence suggests that exposure to forward and backward illusory motion skews the temporal orientation of MW thoughts to either the future or past respectively. However, little is known about the impact of this manipulation on other features of MW. Here, using a novel experimental paradigm, we first confirmed that our illusory motion method facilitated the generation of MW thoughts congruent with the direction of motion. We then conducted content analyses which revealed that goal orientation and temporal distance were also significantly affected by the direction of illusory motion. We conclude that illusory motion may be an effective means of assaying MW and could help to elucidate this ubiquitous, and likely critical, component of cognition.     

The effects of thought suppression on autobiographical memory recall

While it is well documented that autobiographical memory (ABM) recall is affected in Posttraumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), less is known about the cognitive mechanisms that underlie this pattern. This paper presents two research studies which investigated the role of thought suppression in the recall of ABMs. Study 1 assessed the role of thought suppression as a correlate of ABM retrieval in an undergraduate student sample (n = 50). The results showed that higher levels of trait thought suppression were significantly correlated with faster recall of negative episodic memories as well as reduced recall of personal semantic memories. Thought suppression remained as a significant predictor of ABM recall, even when the participants' levels of depression and post-traumatic stress reactions were considered. Study 2 investigated the causal effects of thought suppression on ABM recall. 64 undergraduate students were shown a negative video clip and were asked either to suppress any thought of the video or simply to monitor their thoughts immediately thereafter. Results showed that suppression directly led to significantly enhanced negative episodic ABM recall, as well as a significantly reduced ability to recall personal semantic memories.