The impact of mood on time perception, memorization, and acceptance of waiting

The effects of mood on two cognitive processes, memorization and time perception, were examined. Participants (N = 155) first watched videos that successfully manipulated their mood (happy or sad); then they watched a video simulating a waiting line (Bateson & Hui, 1992; Bosselman & Craik, 1987). A questionnaire was administered to both groups to assess the number of items memorized from the "waiting" video, the estimated waiting time, and the degree of acceptance of waiting time. A series of analyses of variance showed that happy mood enhanced the number of items memorized and the acceptance of waiting but had no significant effect on time estimates. Memorization had no effect on time estimates or on acceptance of waiting; as expected, the longer the perceived waiting time, the less the acceptance of waiting time. A global model based on a system of linear equations (LINEQS) reproduced these results, which are interpreted in terms of both previous studies on mood and time estimate models.