Influences of mood on problem solving - Essay Example

Conflicting results reported in these tests suggest the underlying cause may be contained in the methods of testing, specifically regarding the tasks involved in the testing process and the types of responses requested from test participants. Rather than being able to determine whether positive or negative mood is empirically better for problem-solving, this paper proposes to determine whether specific mood sets are most beneficial for the problem-solving process given more detailed parameters, such as type of response required and type of test or task performed.

By looking at some of the available research in existence in the field, this paper will work to identify situations in which positive mood may be more beneficial, when negative mood may be more beneficial, or when different approaches to mood altogether will achieve the most productive results. Following several studies in which it was suggested that positive mood was essential to most effective problem-solving, Anja Goritz and Klaus Moser conducted a study via the internet to determine whether this premise was essentially true (Goritz, Moser, 2003).

Specifically, the researchers were seeking to prove whether positive mood enhances the ability to categorize with flexibility at broad and narrow levels. To test this hypothesis, they used the World Wide Web as their laboratory and the Velten procedure for mood inducement for both the positive and the negative groups. The neutral group did not receive any kind of mood inducement.