Mood theory (20TH CENTURY)

Concept in study of public opinion.

For the body of public opinion there are ‘moods’ which are not necessarily rationally derived, and are responses to other events or influences rather than spontaneous expressions of any coherent view.

Source:
Graham Evans and Jeffrey Newnham, The Dictionary of World Politics (Hemel Hempstead, 1990)

In psychology, a mood is an affective state. In contrast to emotions or feelings, moods are less specific, less intense and less likely to be provoked or instantiated by a particular stimulus or event. Moods are typically described as having either a positive or negative valence. In other words, people usually talk about being in a good mood or a bad mood.

Mood also differs from temperament or personality traits which are even longer-lasting. Nevertheless, personality traits such as optimism and neuroticism predispose certain types of moods. Long term disturbances of mood such as clinical depression and bipolar disorder are considered mood disorders. Mood is an internal, subjective state but it often can be inferred from posture and other behaviors. “We can be sent into a mood by an unexpected event, from the happiness of seeing an old friend to the anger of discovering betrayal by a partner. We may also just fall into a mood.”[1]

Research also shows that a person’s mood can influence how they process advertising.[2][3] Mood has been found to interact with gender to affect consumer processing of information

7 thoughts on “Mood theory (20TH CENTURY)

  1. zortilonrel says:

    Very interesting info !Perfect just what I was looking for! “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts about reality.” by Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

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