The influence of positive mood and extraversion on different aspects of cognitive control
Abstract
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] There is some evidence that positive mood might influence cognitive control and that extraverts might perform better than introverts when experiencing a positive mood. The current project investigated whether positive mood has differential effects on two cognitive control mechanisms, goal maintenance and working memory storage capacity, and whether the influence of positive mood on cognitive control varies by level of extraversion. In Study 1, following either a positive or a neutral mood induction, participants completed the Running Memory Span (RMS) task, a measure of working memory storage capacity, and the Stroop task, a measure of goal maintenance. Results show that the positive mood group performed worse on the RMS task, but the mood groups did not differ in their performance on the Stroop task. In Study 2, a within-subjects mood manipulation was utilized. Participants completed the RMS task and another measure of goal maintenance, the Flanker task. Findings show that when in a positive mood state, participants performed worse on the RMS task, but performance on the Flanker task did not vary by mood condition. In addition to completing mood measures, participants completed questionnaires assessing personality characteristics. There was no interaction between state mood ratings and trait levels of positive mood in either study. Overall, evidence from this project suggests that positive mood has differential effects on cognitive control, impairing working memory storage capacity but having no effect on goal maintenance.
Degree
M.A.
Thesis Department
Rights
Access is limited to the campuses of the University of Missouri.