Predicting responsiveness to a depressive mood induction procedure

Abstract

Inducing various mood states -- sad or depressed mood in particular -- has become a widely employed and accepted means of experimentally examining the link between emotion and cognition, particularly with research on cognitive theory and depression. Using various criteria, studies utilizing mood induction procedures (MIPs) have reported successful induction of the desired mood in participants at rates ranging from 50 to 75%, clearly reflecting substantial individual variation. Individual differences in response to MIPs, however, have received little attention. Drawing on both theory and previous research, the present study identified and examined a range of possible predictors of response to depressive mood induction in a sample of 100 undergraduate students. Results indicated that of the examined predictors, experience with recent negative events prior to the mood induction and participant mood state, including self-reported symptoms of anxiety, significantly predicted reported mood state following the MIP. The implications of these results for models of vulnerability and resilience to negative mood states are discussed, and future research directions are provided.