The effect of mood on decision-making : a role for personal experience
- UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Kimberly Rose Bolen (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )
- Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/
- Advisor
- Karen Daniels
Abstract: This research had two objectives. The first was to examine the effect of mood on
decision-making using a novel induction procedure. The second was to assess whether an
individual?s personal history moderates those mood effects. The mood induction procedure
involved having participants listen to an audiotape depicting a fictional 911 call of either a
domestic violence disturbance or a bar fight. Participants then completed four decision-making
tasks, and their performance was compared to a no-induction control group. The influence of
personal experience was examined by comparing the performance of participants with and
without a history of domestic violence. Both the mood induction manipulation and prior
experience with domestic violence were expected to result in riskier decision-making.
Moreover, the two factors were expected to interact, such that victims show the greatest deficits
in the domestic violence induction condition. The results revealed some limited evidence that
non-victims exposed to the domestic disturbance audiotape demonstrated higher levels of risktaking
behavior. Contrary to the aforementioned predictions, domestic violence victims
demonstrated a tendency towards risk aversion, and the relevant induction procedure seemed to
exacerbate their cautious behavior. Correlations between the various decision-making tasks were
generally low supporting the idea that decision-making is a multifaceted construct. Explanations
for the main findings, as well as their theoretical and practical implications, are explored more
fully in the General Discussion.
The effect of mood on decision-making : a role for personal experience
PDF (Portable Document Format)
377 KB
Created on 1/1/2009
Views: 8501
Additional Information
- Publication
- Thesis
- A Thesis Submitted to the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Masters of Arts
- Language: English
- Date: 2009
- Keywords
- Decision making, Emotions and cognition
- Subjects
- Decision making
- Emotions and cognition