The effect of induced mood states on performance profile areas of perceived need

The performance profile technique is now widely used by a range of sports scientists, usually as the first step in implementing a training programme. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of altered mood states on areas of perceived need for an individual identified by the performance profile. Sixty-seven university sports science students (30 females, 37 males) participated in the study. They completed their performance profile and a shortened version of the Bi-polar Profile of Mood States before and after four separate mood manipulation treatments (happy, sad, neutral, control). The participants were allocated at random to one of four groups and completed the treatments in a counterbalanced order. Mood manipulation checks identified that both the happy and sad manipulations were successful. Profile areas of perceived need, identified through discrepancies in an individual's perceptions of ideal and current state, were not affected by the sad and neutral manipulations or by the control condition. However, areas of perceived need were significantly lower after the happy mood manipulation than before the treatment. Our results show that asking individuals to complete their profiles when in a happy mood state is likely to affect judgements and result in an underestimation of perceived need for improvement.