Do induced moods really influence health perceptions?
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether induced mood alters health reports. DESIGN: Randomized experiments testing a) mood influence on two global self-rated health (SRH) assessments (Study 1; N = 168) and b) testing whether illness relevant thinking moderates the influence of induced negative mood on SRH and physical symptom reports (Study 2; N = 143). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Two global SRH items. Results. Effect sizes for induced mood were near zero across both studies (r's = 0.00-0.07). Aggregate analyses of induced mood studies showed a small adverse effect of induced negative mood on SRH, but these analyses masked roughly equal instances of better SRH among groups with worse mood. CONCLUSION: Published experimental research shows no consistent pattern of poorer SRH following negative mood induction in college-aged samples. Sample size and gender may account for variation in health ratings among induced mood groups.