Mood dependence of perceived criticism: a significant null finding

Five decades of research have shown that the quality of one׳s interactions with significant others, as captured in the expressed emotion (EE) concept, affects the course of various psychiatric and medical complaints. The key EE-component, interpersonal criticism, is increasingly assessed with the single-item Perceived Criticism Measure (PCM). The measure is highly practical and has shown good concurrent and predictive validity. Because the PCM relies on respondents׳ memories, ratings may be subject to mood bias. In this study we examined to what extent PCM-ratings are mood dependent. College students (N=150) provided data on mood and PCM before and after the induction of either a positive or negative mood. Although the mood induction was highly successful, PCM-ratings remained stable and appeared unaffected by changes in mood. This finding contradicts the robust mood-congruency-effect finding that the valence of one's mood enhances the recollection of similarly valenced memories. This apparent stability bolsters the PCM's construct validity and makes it less likely that high PCM-ratings simply reflect the negatively biased perceptions of distressed individuals.