Date of Award
2010
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
Abstract
This study examines the influence of discrete incidental positive emotions (joy and contentment) on participants' attitudes and cognitive responses. Prior persuasion research has focused almost exclusively on negative emotions or comparisons between positive and negative moods. A 2 (argument strength: weak or strong) x 3 (emotional state: joy, contentment, or neutral) between-participants factorial design was used in this study. Participants (N = 460) were randomly assigned to one of six experimental conditions. Analyses revealed consistent argument strength effects on attitudes and cognitive responses. Compared to the joy and neutral conditions, participants in the contentment condition tended to generate fewer positive cognitive responses. However, the hypothesis that contentment and joy are associated with different process-style effects was not supported. Suggestions for future research are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Smith, Jennifer Lee, "Effects of Discrete Positive Emotions on Attitude Change" (2010). Master's Theses. 534.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/534
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2010 Jennifer Lee Smith
