Abnormal Psychology

56 CHAPTER 2

me very angry!” (Maysles & Maysles, 1976), even though one moment before she

had been relatively calm, and they were talking about events that had transpired over

20 years earlier.

Amood is a persistent emotion that is not attached to a stimulus. A mood lurks

in the background and infl uences mental processes, mental contents, and behavior.

For example, when you wake up “on the wrong side of the bed” for no apparent

reason and feel grumpy all day, you are experiencing a type of bad mood. Some psy-

chological disorders, such as depression, involve disturbances in mood.

Emotions and Behavior

Emotions and behavior can be closely linked in various ways (see Figure 2.9).

People are more likely to participate in activities and behave in ways that are con-

sistent with their emotions (Bower & Forgas, 2000). When people are sad,

they tend to hunch their shoulders and listen to slow music rather than up-

beat music. When people are afraid, they tend to freeze, like a deer caught

in the headlights. And when people are depressed, they often don’t have

the inclination or energy to see friends, which can lead to social isolation.

Fortunately, the relationship between emotions and behavior also works in

the other direction: A change in behavior can lead to a change in emotion. When

depressed people make an effort to see friends or engage in other activities that

they used to enjoy, they often become less depressed (Jacobson, Martell, & Dimid-

jian, 2001). The fact that changing behaviors can alter emotions is the basis of a

number of psychological treatments (to be discussed in Chapter 4). The point is

that emotions can kindle—and be kindled by—behavior; emotions and behavior

dynamically interact.

Emotions, Mental Processes, and Mental Contents

Emotions not only affect behavior, but also affect mental processes and men-

tal contents (see Figure 2.10). In fact, emotions and moods contribute to bi-

ases in attention, perception, and memory (Blaney, 1986; Eich, Macauley, &

Ryan, 1994; Forgas, 1995; MacKay & Ahmetzanov, 2005; Mogg &

Bradley, 2005; Yovel & Mineka, 2005). When anxious, people are more

likely to judge a neutral stimulus as anxiety-related (Mogg & Bradley,

2005). Similarly, when feeling down, people are more likely to see the

world through “depressed” lenses, to have a negative or pessimistic slant

in general—not only will they fi nd it easier to remember past periods of

sadness, but they will also tend to view the future as hopeless; they will

see more reasons to be sad than will people who aren’t down (Lewis &

Critchley, 2003).

In addition, the causality also works in the other direction: Men-

tal processes can affect emotions. For example, emotions are affected

by attributions. That is, we all regularly try to understand why events in

our lives occur, and thus make attributions, assigning causes for particu-

lar occurrences. A person’s mood can be affected by the attributions he or

she makes. For instance, college students who tend to attribute negative

events to general, enduring negative qualities about themselves (“I am stupid”) are

more likely to become depressed after a negative event (such as getting a bad grade)

(Metalsky et al., 1993).

One particular type of attribution can actually protect against depression:

Theself-serving attributional bias occurs when people typically attribute positive

events—but not negative events—to their own personality traits. For example,

suppose you receive a pay raise or a good grade. If you are prone to the self-serv-

ing bias, you will attribute this positive event to some enduring quality that you

believe you possess: intelligence, perseverance, ability, or some similarly positive

trait. This bias serves to increase or preserve a positive view of yourself. People

who are depressed rarely display the self-serving attributional bias, which is con-

Mood
A persistent emotion that is not attached
to a stimulus; it exists in the background
and infl uences mental processes, mental
contents, and behavior.

2.10 • Emotions, Mental Processes,

and Mental Contents Emotions can

infl uence what people pay attention to, perceive,

and remember, and they can color the contents

of people’s thoughts. The infl uence also operates

in the other directions: Mental processes and

mental contents can alter people’s emotions.

2.9 • Emotions and Behavior An

emotion often leads a person to behave in a

particular way that matches the emotional

state. By the same token, behavior that is not

consistent with an emotional state can lead to

a change in the emotion, bringing it more into

line with the behavior.

Figure 2.9

Figure 2.10

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Mental

processes

Emotions

Mental

contents

t

t

29 Eti dBhi hh

Emotions Behavior