Come rain or come shine: individual differences in how weather affects mood

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Environmental Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• A common belief links weather to mood, yet scientific evidence is limited.
• Individual differences in weather-mood relationships are poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct weather reactivity types.
• To explore intergenerational patterns in weather-mood associations.

Main Methods:

• Linked self-reported daily mood data (30 days) with objective weather data.
• Analyzed data from 497 adolescents and their mothers.
• Identified and replicated weather reactivity types.

Main Results:

• Four weather reactivity types were identified: Summer Lovers, Unaffected, Summer Haters, and Rain Haters.
• Replication in mothers confirmed these types.
• Intergenerational concordance was observed for two types, suggesting familial influence.

Conclusions:

• Significant individual differences exist in how weather affects mood.
• These differences help explain the discrepancy between public belief and research findings on weather-mood links.
• Weather reactivity may have a familial component.