The Interaction Between Affect and Motivation in Social Judgments and Behavior

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511735066.012

10 - The Interaction Between Affect and Motivation in Social Judgments and Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 August 2010

Joseph P. Forgas and

Simon M. Laham

Edited by

Joseph P. Forgas ,

Kipling D. Williams and

Simon M. Laham

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Joseph P. Forgas: Affiliation:
Scientia Professor of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Simon M. Laham: Affiliation:
Researcher in the school of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Joseph P. Forgas: Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney
Kipling D. Williams: Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney
Simon M. Laham: Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney

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Summary

INTRODUCTION

The influence of affective states on motivated action has long been supported by anecdotal evidence as well as in literature. A well-known short story on chess by Thomas Mann describes how upbeat or downbeat background music can produce sudden shifts in mood, motivating chess players to shift their strategies from aggressive to defensive and back again in line with the changing affective tone of the melody. Just as in chess, social interaction demands complex and elaborate planning, as actors need to interpret ambiguous social situations and plan their interpersonal strategies accordingly (Forgas, 1998a). There is convergent recent evidence from evolutionary social psychology, neuropsychology, and psychophysiology supporting the view that affect is an essential component of motivated social thinking and behavior (Adolphs & Damasio, 2001; Blascovich & Mendes, 2000; Haselton & Buss, 2003).

This chapter will review recent empirical evidence, including several studies from our laboratory, showing that fleeting, superficial mood states can have highly predictable and significant motivational influences on how people behave in strategic social situations. Generally, participants in a good mood behave in a much more confident and even assertive way, while participants in a bad mood act in a pessimistic and cautious manner (Forgas, 1999a, 1999b, 2002). The chapter will also consider the psychological mechanisms that allow mild mood states to influence strategic social behaviors. Affective states have a particularly strong influence on thoughts and behaviors when social actors use open and elaborate cognitive processing when considering strategic options in social situations.

Type: Chapter
Information: Social Motivation
Conscious and Unconscious Processes
, pp. 168 - 193

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511735066.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2004

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