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Updated: Apr 20, 2026
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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
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Exploring relations between positive mood state and school-age children's risk taking
Barbara A Morrongiello1, Julia Stewart2, Kristina Pope2
1Psychology Department, University of Guelph bmorrong@uoguelph.ca.
Journal of Pediatric Psychology
|December 4, 2014
Summary
Children take more risks when in a happy mood. This effect is stronger for children with a positive urgency trait, impacting injury prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Understanding factors influencing children's risk-taking behavior is crucial for developing effective safety interventions.
- Previous research suggests mood states can impact decision-making, but specific effects of positive mood on children's risk-taking require further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if children exhibit increased risk-taking behaviors in a positive mood compared to a neutral mood.
- To explore the relationship between the 'positive urgency' trait and risk-taking tendencies in children.
Main Methods:
- Experimental induction of positive mood in 7-10-year-old children.
- Measurement of children's risk-taking intentions and actual risk behaviors under both positive and neutral mood conditions.
- Assessment of the 'positive urgency' trait and its correlation with risk-taking.
Main Results:
- Children demonstrated significantly higher risk-taking intentions and engaged in more risky behaviors when in a positive mood versus a neutral mood.
- A positive association was found between the positive urgency trait and increased risk-taking, particularly evident in actual risk behaviors.
- The influence of positive mood on risk-taking was more pronounced for actual behaviors than for risk-taking intentions.
Conclusions:
- Children's mood state significantly influences their propensity for risk-taking, with positive moods leading to heightened risk engagement.
- The 'positive urgency' trait exacerbates this effect, making children high in this trait more likely to take risks when happy.
- Findings have implications for designing targeted injury prevention programs that consider children's emotional states and personality traits.
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