The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among mood, task performance, and attribution. It was hypothesized that type of mood would affect task performance and causal attributions for success and failure. Subjects viewed one of three films, selected for their humorous (positive mood), educational (neutral mood) and violent (negative mood) content and performed an anagram task in which success and failure was manipulated. After completing the task, subjects were asked to write down the most important cause of their success or failure and rate the cause on three 9point subscales, one subscale for each of the attributional dimensions of internality, stability, and controllability. In addition, subjects responded to an ascription scale that assesses the extent to which specific factors (e.g., task difficulty) are perceived to influence performance. The study found the expected effect of outcome on the causal ascription measure of attributions but not for the dimension measure. Contrary to the hypothesis, there was no effect of mood on attributions or task performance. These results raise the question of the measurement of attribution by causal ascriptions versus dimensions, and leave unresolved the questions of the relationships of mood to attribution and task performance. Possible explanations for the discrepancy between ascriptions and attributions and the lack of an effect of mood are discussed. Implications for future research are examined and suggestions are proposed. / Department of Psychological Science

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on November 27, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. A.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Psychology, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on June 19, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-75). Also issued in print.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 54-62).

Thesis (M. Ed.)--Acadia University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-86). Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M. Ed.)--Acadia University, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-86). Also available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M. Med. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005.

Thesis (M. S.)--Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Dr. Phillip L. Ackerman; Committee Member: Dr. Paul Corballis; Committee Member: Dr. Ruth Kanfer. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

No description available.

The effects of induced mood on secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) were tested on 104 students (51 men & 53 women) using a mixed design with between subject factors of gender, induced mood (positive vs. negative), method of induction (writing about oneself vs. viewing a video), and a within subject factor, time (baseline vs. posttest). A split-plot multivariate analysis of covariance, controlling for salivary flow rate, did not support a causal link between induced mood alone and change in SIgA concentration. The effect of induced mood on blood pressure and heart rate was also examined. There were no significant main effects, but gender interacted with mood induction such that females experienced an increase in blood pressure in the positive mood induction condition. There was no significant effect of method of mood induction on SIgA, blood pressure, or heart rate. Stable personality traits, however, moderated the effects of mood induction. Persons who scored higher on depression and neuroticism, and lower on positive affect had significantly higher SIgA concentrations in the negative mood condition. There were no significant effects of personality traits on SIgA levels in the positive mood condition, nor did they interact with induced mood to change blood pressure or heart rate. These data suggest that although SIgA concentration may not be subject to short-term laboratory mood manipulations alone, changes in SIgA concentration may be associated with an interaction of stable personality traits and mood state, especially in the case induced negative mood.