Distinctions between Emotion and Mood

Most academics agree that emotions and moods are related but distinct phenomena. The present study assessed emotion-mood distinctions among a non-academic population and compared these views with distinctions proposed in the literature. Content analysis of responses from 106 participants identified 16 themes, with cause (65% of respondents), duration (40%), control (25%), experience (15%) and consequences (14%) the most frequently cited distinctions. Among 65 contributions to the academic literature, eight themes were proposed, with duration (62% of authors), intentionality (41%), cause (31%), consequences (31%) and function (18%) the most frequently cited. When the eight themes cited by both academics and non-academics were rank ordered, approximately 60% overlap in opinion was evident. A data-derived summary of emotion-mood distinctions is provided. These data should prove useful to investigators interested in developing a clearer scientific distinction between emotion and mood than is currently available.

Citation

Beedie, C.J., Terry, P.C., & Lane, A.M. (2005). Distinctions between emotion and mood. Cognition and Emotion, 19 (6), pp 847-878.

Type

Journal article

Language

en

ISSN

0269-9931

Collections

Faculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing