![]() ![]() If you’ve ever had a morning like this, your response was actually adaptive: you reacted to an environment full of unexpected threats by putting your system on high alert so that you would be better able to respond to the next threat. For example, a morning of inconveniences – a traffic accident snarling traffic, a long wait at the doctor’s office, and then a bumped-up deadline at work – could put you in a state of anxiety. Scientists think that moods are created by the experiences we have, especially experiences happening close together in time (Nettle & Bateson, 2012). Sometimes moods seem linked to particular objects or experiences in your environment, and at other times, they just are (Siemer, 2005). ![]() Once you’re in a particular mood, it will likely continue for some time, even though it may not seem related to anything in your current environment (Russell, 2003). One of the things that distinguishes moods from emotions (more on that below) is that moods are longer-lasting one of the most frustrating things about moods is that just becoming aware of ours isn’t enough to help us change them. You probably can often sense when you’re in a good mood or a bad mood. We are usually aware to some degree of the nature of our mood, even if we can’t change or control it (Watson & Clark, 1997). By contrast, when you are in an angry mood, things probably feel intensely unpleasant. When you say you’re in a relaxed mood, for example, you are probably feeling positive, but in a mild way. In this regard, they are much like emotions. Moods have two chief characteristics: whether they are positive (pleasant) or negative (unpleasant), and how intense they are (Watson & Clark, 1997). So rather than thinking, “That’s so thoughtful of them,” when my friends invite me over for dinner during an especially busy week, I might instead think, “Oh no, now I have to deal with letting them down, or getting behind on work because I said yes to them.” For example, when I am in a negative mood, I might feel worried or upset, and my thoughts will generally follow this pattern, too. Scientists define a mood as a prolonged period of time in which you tend to feel certain feelings and have thoughts that mirror those feelings (Watson & Clark, 1997). ![]()
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