Abstract:
How does mood influence our verbal communication strategies, such as the formulation of requests? Based on the Affect Infusion Model (AIM; Forgas, 1995a), three experiments predicted and found (a) that negative mood increases, and positive mood decreases the politeness of requests, and (b) that these mood effects are greater in more difficult request situations that require more elaborate, substantive processing. In Experiment 1, sad mood increased and happy mood decreased request politeness, and did so most in a difficult situation. Experiment 2 showed a similar pattern with self-generated requests, and found that request elaboration was also influenced by mood. Experiment 3 replicated these findings using different request scenarios and a different mood induction, and also established that difficult situations produced better recall memory, confirming the more substantive processing of these requests. The findings are discussed in terms of the cognitive mechanisms that mediate mood effects on strategic interpersonal behaviors such as requesting, and the implications of the results for interpersonal communication, and for recent theories of affect and cognition are considered.