Affective responses to keeping and not keeping an activity product

This study examined whether keeping or not keeping the products of a craft activity influences affective meaning and mood. Four groups of undergraduate (n = 23) and graduate (n = 20) students created block-printed stationery. Two groups were allowed to keep their stationery, and two groups were not. The measure of mood changes was the Bipolar Profile of Mood States, which subjects completed before and after the activity. After the activity, subjects also completed the Osgood 12-scale short-form semantic differential, which measured the affective meanings of the activity. Data analysis revealed significant differences between conditions on two out of nine variables. The subjects who could not keep their products became significantly more hostile and significantly more energetic than the subjects who kept their stationery. Implications for occupational therapy theory and further research possibilities are discussed.