Does Affect Induce Self-Focused Attention?

Joanne V. Wood, Judith A. Saltzberg, Lloyd A. Goldsamt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Despite growing evidence that depression is linked with self-focused attention, little is known about how depressed individuals become self-focused or, more generally, about what arouses self-focus in everyday life. Two experiments examined the hypothesis that affect itself induces self-focused attention. In Experiment 1, moods were manipulated with an imagination mood-induction procedure. Sad-induction Ss became higher in self-focus than did neutral-induction Ss. Experiment 2 replicated this effect for sad moods by means of a musical mood-induction procedure and different measures of self-focus. However, Experiment 2 failed to support the hypothesis that happy moods induce self-focus. The results have implications for mood-induction research, self-focused attention, and recent models of depression.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)899-908
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of personality and social psychology
Volume58
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 1990

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Sociology and Political Science

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