The contribution of music vs instructions in the Musical Mood Induction Procedure

The relative contribution of the instructions and the music to the effects of the Musical Mood Induction Procedure (MMIP) were investigated. Using an experimental procedure which minimised covert experimenter bias, subjects performed under both elation and depression mood inductions in one of four conditions: music present or absent by mood change instructions present or absent, using a crossover design. Results indicated that instructions were both necessary and sufficient to produce change on mood sensitive measures. Mood change effects were reduced by controlling for the effect of subjects who responded so as not to ‘louse-up’ the experiment. The MMIP seems to be much less musical than the name implies. Further research is needed to determine which aspects of the instructions contribute most to the changes on mood sensitive measures.     

Mood Swings and Creativity

ABSTRACT:

This article evaluates recent evidence for an association between creativity and bipolar mood disorders. Eminent creativity and everyday creativity are distinguished, with high rates of major mood disorders‐particularly bipolar disorders— appearing among eminent creators in the arts. However, among everyday persons, including the 4–5% of the population that may develop a bipolar “spectrum”; disorder and their relatives, it is those with relatively milder mood disorders and normalcy who may show the greatest creative advantage. These seemingly conflicting results are reconciled through comparison of research designs and the creativity and diagnostic variables studied. Evidence regarding mood states that enhance creativity is also considered, both for eminent and everyday creators, and some preliminary results from a study of patients are presented. Here, milder mood elevations were tied most closely to the experience of creativity, although other patterns can exist. Three patterns are examined in terms of 23 mood, cognitive, and behavioral features that Jamison (1989) studied in eminent creators.     

The Effect of Mood on Problem Finding in Scientific Creativity

This study examined the influence of different mood states on Creative Science Problem Finding (CSPF). CSPF was measured in terms of Fluency, Flexibility, and Originality. Imagery techniques were used to induce positive or negative mood states in participants, with results suggesting that positive mood led to a significant increase in CSPF performance compared with neutral mood, especially for the dimensions of fluency and flexibility. No difference was found between negative mood and neutral mood. Results provide evidence that anger had no impact on CSPF performance compared with neutral mood. However, fear appeared to inhibit the performance of CSPF. The interaction between specific moods and CSPF provide evidence that moods influenced CSPF with open instructions more than with closed instructions.     

The Induction of Mood via the WWW

Five experiments explored the methodology of Web-based mood induction and yielded empirical evidence for its feasibility and its limits. Study 1 examined the suitability of the Velten method and mood-suggestive photographs to induce both positive and negative moods. Negative mood was successfully induced, while the positive mood induction failed. In Study 2, cartoons successfully ameliorated mood, whereas jokes were ineffective. In Study 3, associations with affectively valenced words were not suitable in producing a positive or a negative mood. In Study 4, picture-illustrated emotive texts successfully induced a positive and a negative mood. In Study 5, valence and arousal ratings were obtained for the stimuli used in Study 1 and 3. Based on the results, recommendations for the application of online mood induction procedures are given.     

Effects Of Negative Mood Induction On The Body Image Of Restrained Eaters

Abstract

Twenty restrained eaters (REs) and 20 unrestrained eaters (UREs) were studied via a distorting video image technique under three conditions: (1) baseline; (2) induction of negative mood (NM), (3) induction of positive mood (PM). Under each condition they were asked: (a) to estimate the actual width of their own body; (b) to focus attention on their bodily sensations and indicate how wide their body sensed and (c) to estimate the width of a water bottle. In addition, subjects answered a body shape questionnaire (BSQ). Main effects were found for the factors Group (REs gave higher estimates). Mood (estimates were higher after induction of negative mood), and Instruction (estimates were higher for sensed width of body). There were significant interaction effects for Group x Mood (estimations of REs were higher after induction of negative mood) and for Group x Mood x Instruction. Dissatisfaction with body shape (BSQ) was significantly correlated with the estimations of sensed body width after induction of negative mood.     

Mood state-Dependent Retrieval: The Effects of Induced Mood on Memory Reconsidered

Analysis of studies investigating mood-state-dependent retrieval identifies methodological problems that may have contributed to the controversy surrounding the reliability of the effect-in particular, the possible confounding of encoding and retrieval in previous studies. Five experiments are reported investigating the effects of mood on learning and recall. Mood-state-dependent retrieval was observed in Experiment 1a (using Velten's Mood Induction Procedure); Experiment 1b (using a music MIP); and Experiment 1c (using Velten's MIP at encoding and a music MIP at retrieval). Subjects who learned and recalled in different moods had significantly greater decrements in recall than did subjects in the same moods. Experiments 2 and 3 investigated the effect of observable retrieval cues on moodstate-dependent retrieval. In Experiment 2, the presence of observable retrieval cues at recall overrode state-dependent retrieval. In Experiment 3, by manipulating the presence or absence of observable cues at recall, both the occurrence and the erasure of the mood-state dependency was demonstrated.Moodstate during learning andcued recallwas also shownto affect performance in a third session under conditons of free recall.     

认知抑制对科学创造力和艺术创造力的影响

研究通过2个实验,考察不同高低抑制水平对科学创造力和艺术创造力的影响。通过安排不同难度的Simon任务（不一致试次占70%或10%）来消耗被试的认知资源,达到操纵被试的抑制水平,以侧抑制任务的前后测来评估被试抑制水平的变化情况,实验1和实验2分别以科学创造力测验和粘贴画任务测量被试的科学创造力和艺术创造力。结果发现,在科学创造力测验上,高抑制水平组被试的流畅性和灵活性得分显著高于低抑制水平组;在粘贴画任务中,低抑制水平组被试的创造性、可爱程度、综合印象得分以及总分均显著高于高抑制水平组。表明高认知抑制水平有利于科学创造力,低认知抑制水平有利于艺术创造力,认知抑制对科学创造力和艺术创造力的影响存在分离效应。     

Creativity,Mood Disorders,and Emotional Intelligence

The study addressed two findings in the creativity literature that show, on the one hand, that bipolar disorder and other clinical dysfunctions are overrepresented among eminently creative people, and that positive affect is positively associated with creativity. The central hypothesis of the study was that emotional intelligence could be an intervening variable between clinical conditions and creative production. A sample of 412 undergraduates completed a wide range of divergent thinking and creative production measures, and the Emotional Intelligence Scale; 11 percent of the sample reported that they had completed treatment for mood disorder and 5 percent report that they were currently in treatment. A combination of regression and ANOVA analyses revealed: The link between mood disorders and creative production persisted after emotional intelligence was statistically removed; the same was true for ideational fluency and flexibility of cognitive style. The link between emotional intelligence and creative production persisted after the effect of clinical disorders was removed. Ideational fluency and emotional intelligence were higher among people who completed treatment compared to people in treatment. The tentative interpretation is that emotional intelligence serves as a counterweight against mood disorders in enhancing creative production.     

The Interactive Effects of Dispositional Affectivity, Sex, and a Positive Mood Induction on Student Evaluations of Teachers

This study was designed to examine the effects of disposition, sex, and a positive mood induction on student evaluations of teachers. In 33 laboratory classes, 339 students filled out measures of negative affectivity (NA) and positive affectivity (PA). Several weeks later, participants filled out a research-based teacher evaluation form. Students in half of the classes received a positive mood induction prior to filling out the evaluation form, whereas participants in the other classes received the positive mood induction after filling out the evaluation form. Results indicated that PA and the positive mood induction both related positively with evaluation measures. Moreover, NA and PA moderated the relationship between the positive mood induction and teacher evaluations for males, but not for females. Implications for organizations and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Mood and Creativity over Time in a Bipolar Participant

When depression alternates with mania, as in a bipolar affective disorder, creativity might be enhanced. To investigate this, we employed a single‐subject design, looking at both affective space and the spectral covariation of mood and creativity in a participant presenting with bipolar affective disorder. The study was conducted over a period of 54 days, and employed a standard measure of mood (the Brief Mood Introspection Scale) and a standard task of creativity (Alternative Uses Task). Both positive affect and negative affect appear to be somewhat undifferentiated for this participant, and her mood space does not conform to that described by the accepted major dimensions of Arousal and Pleasure. Conceivably, this is because of her rapid mood fluctuations. A 2.7‐day periodicity was found for Tired, Peppy, Nervous, and Calm, on the one hand, and ideational fluency, ideational flexibility, and originality, on the other. In addition, a 9‐day periodicity was common to Happy, Sad, and Gloomy—all three affects clustering in the same affective space—together with both ideational flexibility and originality. This finding brings into question the relationship between creativity and both positive and negative mood.     

Dispositional and Situational Autonomy as Moderators of Mood and Creativity

Although previous research suggests that mood can influence creativity, the controversy about the effects of positive and negative moods has raged for years. This study investigated how the relationship between induced mood and creativity is moderated by dispositional and situational autonomy. It contrasted the different moderating effects of the 2 kinds of autonomy. In Experiment 1, 93 participants completed a questionnaire about dispositional autonomy and performed a creative task after watching 1 of 3 film clips, which were to induce positive, negative, or neutral moods. The results of experiment 1 indicated that positive moods prompted creativity and negative moods inhibited creativity when individuals were low in dispositional autonomy (low in autonomous orientation or high in impersonal orientation). In Experiment 2, 73 participants engaged in a game to manipulate levels of situational autonomy and induce positive or negative moods. The results of experiment 2 showed that positive moods fostered greater creativity than did negative moods when individuals were in full-autonomy condition. The different moderating effects of dispositional and situational autonomy are discussed.     

情绪状态对不同年龄儿童定势转换的影响

采用情绪影片引发情绪的方法,考察64名8~12岁儿童在正负情绪状态下定势转换能力的表现。研究为4(年龄)×2(情绪)×3(重复转换条件:重复、短时转换、长时转换)3因素重复测量混合设计。结果表明,情绪状态对任务转换产生了影响,可能是积极情绪比消极情绪对任务定势的长时转换削弱更大。不同年龄的儿童在这两种任务转换条件中没有出现显著的年龄差异,说明8~12岁儿童均已具备在两个任务之间进行即时转换的能力。     

'Paradoxical' Mood Effects on Creative Problem-solving

Two studies examined the influence of various affective states on creative problem-solving. In Study 1, individual differences in mood were measured using an adjective checklist immediately prior to task performance. Insight problems were then employed to measure creative problem-solving. Performance was compared with that obtained for analytic problem-solving tasks that were included as contrast variables. Results showed that positive mood led to significantly poorer creative problem-solving performance. No link was found between negative mood and general arousal. Performance on the contrasting analytic problem-solving tasks was negatively related to anxiety, but not to positive or negative mood states. In Study 2, the procedure was followed with the addition of experimentally induced mood states. The results obtained in Study 1 for mood ratings were replicated. In the induced mood conditions, negative mood significantly facilitated creative problemsolving performance relative to induced neutral mood, which in turn was better than the control condition. The poorest performance was obtained in the positive mood condition. The results are discussed in the context of contrasting theories of the relationships between mood and problem-solving performance.     

The Interaction of Mood and Rumination in Depression: Effects on Mood Maintenance and Mood-Congruent Autobiographical Memory

Rumination is a response to distress in which individuals focus repetitively on their feelings and the causes and consequences of those feelings. When induced to ruminate, dysphorics exhibit more negative mood and recall more negative memories, but these effects are not seen in nondysphorics. This pattern of results could be due to trait-like differences between dysphoric and nondysphoric individuals, or to the high levels of negative affect that dysphorics are experiencing at the time of rumination. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of pre-rumination mood on post-rumination mood and subsequent memory. Participants scoring high or low in depressive symptoms were assigned to either a positive or negative emotion induction prior to ruminating and completing an autobiographical memory task. Analysis of self-reported mood indicates that both emotion inductions were effective. Surprisingly, all participants returned to baseline mood levels following the rumination induction, and emotion induction had no effect on the negativity of the memories recalled. Dysphorics recalled significantly more negative memories than nondysphorics, regardless of whether positive, neutral, or negative memories were specifically prompted. Our results indicated that the prolonged experience of dysphoria may have greater effects on post-rumination mood and memory than the transitory experience of sadness.     

Unraveling Effects of Novelty on Creativity

Novelty is inherent to creative processes. A positive effect of novelty on creative task performance was therefore predicted. However, creativity can benefit from divergent, as well as convergent thinking. Subsequently, novelty may benefit creative performance when divergent thinking is required, but it could inhibit creative performance when convergent thinking is required. In Study 1, participants were primed with novelty or familiarity, and performed a creativity task that required divergent thinking. Results showed a beneficial effect of novelty priming on originality of the answers. In Study 2, a creativity task that required convergent thinking was framed as novel, familiar, or neutral. Results showed an inhibitory effect of novelty on creativity. Results are related to information processing styles, and implications for creativity and novelty research are discussed.