Mood

This is a book about moods. Though I will define the term somewhat more carefully in Chapter 1, it might help to note here that I use the word "e;mood"e; to refer to affective states which do not stimulate the relatively specific response tendencies we associate with "e;emotions"e;. Instead, moods are pervasive and global, having the capability of influencing a broad range of thought processes and behavior. My interest in mood was provoked initially by the empirical and conceptual contri- butions of Alice Isen and her colleagues. What fascinated me most was the sugges- tion first made in a paper by Clark & Isen (1982) that mood seemed to affect behavior in two very different ways, i. e. , mood could "e;automatically"e; influence the availabil- ity of mood-related cognitions and, thereby, behavior, or mood, especially of the "e;bad"e; variety, might capture our attention in that if it were sufficiently aversive we might consciously try to get rid of it, a "e;controlled"e; or "e;strategic"e; response.

This is a book about moods. Though I will define the term somewhat more carefully in Chapter 1, it might help to note here that I use the word "e;mood"e; to refer to affective states which do not stimulate the relatively specific response tendencies we associate with "e;emotions"e;. Instead, moods are pervasive and global, having the capability of influencing a broad range of thought processes and behavior. My interest in mood was provoked initially by the empirical and conceptual contri- butions of Alice Isen and her colleagues. What fascinated me most was the sugges- tion first made in a paper by Clark & Isen (1982) that mood seemed to affect behavior in two very different ways, i. e. , mood could "e;automatically"e; influence the availabil- ity of mood-related cognitions and, thereby, behavior, or mood, especially of the "e;bad"e; variety, might capture our attention in that if it were sufficiently aversive we might consciously try to get rid of it, a "e;controlled"e; or "e;strategic"e; response.