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.     

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 Croatian version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire: Links with higher- and lower-level personality traits and mood

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) measures habitual use of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The present study tested the psychometric properties and validity of a newly developed Croatian adaptation of the ERQ. In a sample of 347 participants, we first sought to confirm the ERQ's original factor structure. Next, we tested its convergent, divergent and incremental validity. In the first subsample (N = 140), we linked the ERQ with a measure of the Five-Factor Model dimensions and their facets (Revised NEO Personality Inventory). In the second subsample (N = 207), we tested its ability to predict personality dimensions assessed by a different measure (Big Five Inventory) as well as the traits of positive and negative affect, including its incremental validity in predicting the latter. The results corroborated earlier findings, showing that the Croatian ERQ has equivalent psychometrics and predictive validity as ERQs in other languages. Crucially, the observed links between the ERQ and the facets of the Five-Factor Model dimensions enrich our understanding of the personality mechanisms behind the employment of these emotion regulation strategies.     

I feel good,therefore I am real: Testing the causal influence of mood on state authenticity

Although the literature has focused on individual differences in authenticity, recent findings suggest that authenticity is sensitive to context; that is, it is also a state. We extended this perspective by examining whether incidental affect influences authenticity. In three experiments, participants felt more authentic when in a relatively positive than negative mood. The causal role of affect in authenticity was consistent across a diverse set of mood inductions, including explicit (Experiments 1 and 3) and implicit (Experiment 2) methods. The link between incidental affect and state authenticity was not moderated by ability to down-regulate negative affect (Experiments 1 and 3) nor was it explained by negative mood increasing private self-consciousness or decreasing access to the self system (Experiment 3). The results indicate that mood is used as information to assess one's sense of authenticity.     

Velocity explains the links between personality states and affect

The present research examined whether perceived rate of progress toward a goal (velocity) mediated the relationships between personality states and affective states. Drawing from control theories of self-regulation, we hypothesized (i) that increased velocity would mediate the association between state extraversion and state positive affect, and (ii) that decreased velocity would mediate the association between state neuroticism and state negative affect. We tested these hypotheses in 2 experience sampling methodology studies that each spanned 2 weeks. Multilevel modeling analyses showed support for each of the bivariate links in our model, and multilevel path analyses supported our mediation hypotheses. We discuss implications for understanding the relations between personality states and affective states, control theories of self-regulation, and goal striving.     

The relationship between the entrepreneurial personality and the Big Five personality traits

Although meta-analyses show that the Big Five personality traits predict business intention, creation, and success (Brandstätter, 2011), they also indicate that narrow personality traits, such as innovativeness, predict these outcomes better than broad traits, such as Conscientiousness and Extraversion (Rauch & Frese, 2007). The current study extends previous research to examine the relationship between the Big Five and a wider range of entrepreneurial outcomes (e.g. founding charitable organisations, organising events, and changing organisational practices). Additionally, it establishes the incremental validity of a narrow measure of entrepreneurial personality over the Big Five (META, Ahmetoglu, Leutner, & Chamorro-Premuic, 2011). Both the Big Five and META significantly predict various forms of entrepreneurial success, though META does so more consistently. This suggests that narrow personality traits have incremental validity in predicting entrepreneurial success vis-à-vis the Big Five. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.     

Inside the happy personality: Personality states,situation experience,and state affect mediate the relation between personality and affect

Personality traits are strongly related to affect, but the mechanisms accounting for this association remain mostly unclear. We test a new theoretical model that proposes that personality states, situation characteristics, and affective states mediate the relation between personality traits and trait affect. Data from an experience sampling study (N = 206; 4381 observations) indicate that personality traits are associated with personality states and experienced situation characteristics, personality states and experienced situation characteristics are associated with state affect, state affect is associated with trait affect, and that these variables indeed mediate the relation between personality traits and trait affect. These results emphasize the importance of daily experiences for trait-level variables and call for further research on the interplay between personality, behavior, situations, and affect.     

On being happy but fearing failure: The effects of mood on self-handicapping strategies

Does temporary mood influence people’s tendency to engage in self-handicapping behaviors? Based on past research on self-handicapping and recent work on affect and social behaviors, this experiment predicted and found that positive mood significantly increased the tendency to engage in two kinds of self-handicapping strategies. Participants (N = 94) first received contingent or non-contingent positive feedback about performance on a task of ‘cognitive abilities’, and then underwent a positive, neutral, or negative mood induction using video films. Self-handicapping was assessed in terms of their subsequent preference for (a) drinking a performance-enhancing, or performance-inhibiting herbal tea, and (b) engaging or not engaging in performance-enhancing cognitive practice. As predicted, happy mood and non-contingent feedback significantly increased self-handicapping on both measures. The implications of these results for everyday performance tasks, and for recent affect-cognition theories, are discussed.     

Mindfulness, Big Five personality, and affect: A meta-analysis

Mindfulness is purposefully and nonjudgmentally paying attention to the present moment. The primary purpose of this study is to provide a more precise empirical estimate of the relationship between mindfulness and the Big Five personality traits as well as trait affect. Current research results present inconsistent or highly variable estimates of these relationships. Meta-analysis was used to synthesize findings from 32 samples in 29 studies. Results indicate that, although all of the traits display appreciable relationships with mindfulness, the strongest relationships are found with neuroticism, negative affect, and conscientiousness. Conscientiousness, in particular, is often ignored by mindfulness researchers; results here indicate it deserves stronger consideration. Although the results provide a clearer picture of how mindfulness relates to these traits, they also highlight the need to ensure an appropriate conceptualization and measurement of mindfulness.     

Positive mood, attribution, and the illusion of familiarity

We investigated the positivity-cues-familiarity effect and the hypothesis that it is caused by a misattribution of positivity to a sense of familiarity. Participants were put in a positive or neutral mood state, and then either did or did not complete a mood-manipulation check question. Participants then rendered old/new judgments of stimuli to which they allegedly had been subliminally exposed. When participants did not complete the mood-manipulation check question, and thus the source of their affect was unclear, they showed the positivity-cues-familiarity effect: those in a positive mood identified more of the stimuli as old than did those in a neutral mood. However, those who had completed the mood-manipulation check question, and for whom the source of their affect was obvious, did not show the positivity-cues-familiarity effect. These findings support the notion that a misattribution process is responsible for the positivity-cues-familiarity effect.     

The illusion of the positive: The impact of natural and induced mood on older adults' false recall

ABSTRACT

Recent research suggests that affective and motivational processes can influence age differences in memory. In the current study, we examine the impact of both natural and induced mood state on age differences in false recall. Older and younger adults performed a version of the Deese–Roediger–McDermott (DRM; Roediger & McDermott, 1995 Roediger III, H. L. and McDermott, K. B. 1995. Creating false memories: Remembering words not presented in lists. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 21: 803–814. doi:10.1037/0278–7393.21.4.803[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 21, 803) false memory paradigm in either their natural mood state or after a positive or negative mood induction. Results indicated that, after accounting for age differences in basic cognitive function, age-related differences in positive mood during the testing session were related to increased false recall in older adults. Inducing older adults into a positive mood also exacerbated age differences in false memory. In contrast, veridical recall did not appear to be systematically influenced by mood. Together, these results suggest that positive mood states can impact older adults' information processing and potentially increase underlying cognitive age differences.     

控制幻觉与人格、动机关系研究

目的本研究考察了人格、动机强弱分别与心理控制幻觉之间的关系。方法采用被试内实验设计的方法,用艾森克人格问卷进行测量。结果与结论动机水平的高低与控制幻觉的形成之间存在明确的关系,即前后动机水平的发生变化,信心分差异显著(t=-3.1,p=0.006<0.05),动机越强则产生控制幻觉的倾向性越大;人格中的外倾性,精神质与心理控制幻觉的产生存在显著的正相关(r=0.766,P<0.01;r=0.827,P<0.01);外倾性这一心理特质对控制幻觉的产生有较强的预测作用。     

Finding words for feelings: The relationship between personality disorders and alexithymia

This study examined whether personality disorders (PDs) are associated with alexithymic features at varying levels of comorbid psychopathology distress. 167 psychiatric outpatients completed the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) and the General Severity Index (GSI) of the SCL90-revised. Bootstrapping analyses were performed to test whether the PD/alexithymia relationship was moderated by psychopathology distress (GSI). The overall number of PD criteria was associated with cognitive aspects of alexithymia (i.e., Externally Oriented Thinking, EOT) only at low/moderate levels of distress. Borderline criteria predicted EOT only when distress was low, while avoidant and dependent criteria were independently related with EOT. No association was found between other PDs and alexithymia facets. Thus, within clinical samples the alexithymia/PD association is mainly explained by comorbid psychopathology; however, individuals with avoidant, dependent and borderline features might have a specific difficulty with focusing on internal reality, even when their current symptom distress is low.     

Familiality of mood repair responses among youth with and without histories of depression

Affect regulation skills develop in the context of the family environment, wherein youths are influenced by their parents', and possibly their siblings', regulatory responses and styles. Regulatory responses to sadness (mood repair) that exacerbate or prolong dysphoria (maladaptive mood repair) may represent one way in which depression is transmitted within families. We examined self-reported adaptive and maladaptive mood repair responses across cognitive, social and behavioural domains in Hungarian 11- to 19-year-old youth and their parents. Offspring included 214 probands with a history of childhood-onset depressive disorder, 200 never depressed siblings and 161 control peers. Probands reported the most problematic mood repair responses, with siblings reporting more modest differences from controls. Mood repair responses of parents and their offspring, as well as within sib-pairs, were related, although results differed as a function of the regulatory response domain. Results demonstrate familiality of maladaptive and adaptive mood repair responses in multiple samples. These familial associations suggest that relationships with parents and siblings within families may impact the development of affect regulation in youth.     

The relationship between personality, approach to learning and academic performance

This study considers the relationship between students' approaches to learning, as measured by a short-form of Entwistle and Tait's (1995) Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI), the Big Five personality factors, as measured by Cattell's 16PFi, and the background variables of age, gender and prior educational achievement and academic performance. Subjects were 146 social science undergraduate students at a university in Scotland. Structural equation modelling identifies the Big Five personality factor scores account for between 22.7% and 43.6% of the variance across scores on the three approach to learning dimensions. Four of the Big Five personality factors and the three approach to learning dimensions were found to be poor predictors of academic performance. A linear regression analysis with academic performance as the dependent variable and age, prior educational attainment and conscientiousness as independent variables, accounted for 24.1% of the variance in performance. Our investigation suggests approach to learning is a subset of personality. However, we conclude it makes sense to measure these two groups of variables separately in educational settings.     

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.     

Mood-congruent thoughts and personality disorder pathology

The primary aim of this research was to investigate associations that depression severity and trait anxiety have with reactions to specific, identifiable thoughts experienced by persons with varying levels of personality disorder (PD) pathology as they went about their day-to-day lives. Ninety-eight psychotropic medication-free persons participated in an experience sampling assessment procedure over four consecutive days, during which participants recorded specific thoughts experienced moments before a page signal was received and corresponding ratings of thought discomfort. Thought discomfort, regarded as an emotional reaction to thoughts or their evaluation, was moderately associated with several forms of PD pathology, particularly Cluster C pathology. Once depression severity and trait anxiety were controlled, however, associations between PD pathology and thought discomfort were eliminated. Findings from this research generally support the mood-congruence of negatively valenced thoughts in relation to PD pathology.     

Examining the relationship between self-reported compliance and psychopathic personality traits

The relationship between antisocial traits and forensically-relevant compliance is equivocal, perhaps due to the heterogeneity of antisocial traits. In an effort to better understand this relationship, the current study used the construct of psychopathy as a means of parsing this heterogeneity. Specifically, the relationship between psychopathy as captured by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005) and compliance measured by the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS; [Gudjonsson, 1989] and [Gudjonsson, 1997]) among a sample of university students (n = 131) was explored. Results revealed that total scores on the PPI-R were unrelated to compliance. However, specific facets of the PPI-R were related to the GCS, but in opposite directions. This might explain inconsistent findings in the extant literature. The findings stemming from the study provide insights into the relationship between antisocial traits and forensically-relevant compliance and offer direction to future efforts aimed at understanding this relationship. Implications for these distinct relationships in the context of false confessions are discussed.