TITLE:
Prior Negative Mood Buffers Some Individuals from Subsequent Negative Events: The Moderating Role of Neuroticism
AUTHORS:
Weiting Ng
KEYWORDS:
Neuroticism, Mood Effects, Buffering Effects, Negative Emotions, Mood Repair
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.2 No.5,
August
31,
2011
ABSTRACT: The effects of mood on cognition are well-documented. However, would mood influence subsequent emotional reactions? The present research shows that prior moods interact with neuroticism to influence subsequent emotional experiences. Low-neuroticism individuals who initially felt negative subsequently experienced less negative emotions toward a slightly unpleasant task, relative to those who initially felt positive. Conversely, there were no mood effects on high-neuroticism individuals. This demonstrates that surprisingly, a prior negative, rather than positive, mood buffers low- but not high-neuroticism individuals from the effect of a subsequent unpleasant event on negative emotions. The possible mechanism underlying this effect—negative mood repair—is also discussed.