Does Mood Affect Judgment: Results from an In Vivo Observational Study

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Previous research explored mood's influence on judgment, often in laboratory settings.
• The ecological validity of lab-based mood and judgment studies is questioned.
• There is a need to study mood and judgment in naturalistic environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the influence of mood on judgment in vivo.
• To extend previous research on mood and judgment using a smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment design.

Main Methods:

• A smartphone-based study prompted 103 participants three times daily for one week.
• Participants rated their mood and completed judgment tasks: self-efficacy, face emotion recognition, and risk assessment.
• Data collection utilized ecological momentary assessment for real-world mood and behavior tracking.

Main Results:

• Contrary to hypotheses, daily mood did not significantly affect any of the judgment tasks.
• Self-efficacy was predicted by prior task performance and trial.
• Face emotion recognition was associated with sex and task trial.
• Risk assessment was influenced by previous day's balloon pops and task trial.

Conclusions:

• The study's in vivo design offers greater ecological validity than traditional lab studies.
• Self-reported mood and potential unmeasured variables are limitations.
• Findings challenge the generalizability of lab-based mood-judgment research and highlight technology's role in behavioral science.