Emotion ⇄ Mood: How They Interact and Why This Is Important for Decision Governance

To influence how you and others make decisions, it is useful to understand how mood and emotions interact. This text summarizes mechanisms which were proposed to explain that interaction and its influence on decision making behavior.

Emotion and Mood

In academic research, mood and emotion are related but distinct constructs. Their relationship is often characterized in terms of duration, intensity, specificity, and influence on cognition and behavior. The table below provides a simple comparison.

Feature	Mood	Emotion
Duration	Long-lasting (hours/days)	Short-lived (seconds/mins)
Intensity	Low to moderate	High
Specificity	Diffuse, no clear trigger	Specific, identifiable cause
Function	Shapes general cognition	Drives immediate action
Neural Basis	General neurotransmitter changes	Specific neural circuits (e.g., amygdala)
Effect on Decisions	Influences overall judgment and bias	Affects immediate reactions and choices

An Example

Consider “The Dark Knight” (2008) with the character Harvey Dent (Two-Face). Harvey starts the film as Gotham’s idealistic district attorney, committed to justice. His general mood is one of optimism and confidence, shaped by his belief in law and order. However, after the Joker orchestrates an explosion that kills his fiancée and leaves him physically scarred, his intense emotional reaction (grief, anger, and betrayal) overwhelms his long-term mood. How do emotion and mood interact in his decisions?

Before the Explosion – Positive Mood → Rational Decision-Making
- Mood: Dent’s usual mood is hopeful and focused, shaped by his belief in justice.
- Emotion: When under stress, such as interrogating a criminal, he exhibits frustration but still operates within legal boundaries.
- Decision-Making: Despite challenges, his mood helps regulate emotions, allowing him to make rational, law-abiding choices.
After the Explosion – Negative Mood Reinforced by Emotion → Destructive Decision-Making
- Emotion: The immediate trauma of losing Rachel and being physically scarred triggers intense grief and anger.
- Mood Shift: His sustained emotional state transforms his mood, leading to a pessimistic, revenge-driven outlook.
- Decision-Making: Rather than seeking justice through legal means, he embraces random chance (flipping a coin) to determine fate, abandoning his moral principles.
- Outcome: His mood of hopelessness and emotional intensity leads him to make irrational, destructive decisions, including threatening Gordon’s family.

Influence of Mood on Emotions

Here are the mechanisms by which mood influences emotions in decision-making. The diagram below visualizes the mechanisms through variables and labeled edges reflecting the rules used to describe each mechanism. Labels match section numbers below.

1. Mood-Congruent Processing

Mood affects how individuals process information by influencing memory retrieval and cognitive biases. Positive moods enhance recall of pleasant experiences, while negative moods increase access to negative memories, shaping subsequent emotions (Bower, 1981). This mechanism explains how past emotional experiences color present decisions.

Mood → Memory Recall: Positive mood brings up positive memories; negative mood brings up negative ones.
Memory Recall → Emotion: Retrieved memories influence current emotions.
Mood → Information Processing Bias: Positive mood encourages quick thinking; negative mood promotes careful analysis.
Information Processing Bias → Emotion: Quick thinking builds confidence; detailed analysis fosters caution.

2. Appraisal and Interpretation Bias

Moods alter how individuals perceive threats and rewards, influencing emotional reactions. Positive moods tend to enhance optimism and lower risk perception, while negative moods heighten sensitivity to threats and increase caution (Schwarz & Clore, 1983). This mechanism determines emotional responses in uncertain situations.

Mood → Threat/Reward Perception: Positive mood makes rewards seem bigger; negative mood makes threats seem worse.
Threat/Reward Perception → Emotion: Seeing a threat creates fear; seeing a reward brings excitement.
Mood → Risk Assessment: Positive mood lowers risk perception; negative mood raises it.
Risk Assessment → Emotion: Low risk perception leads to optimism; high risk perception causes anxiety.

3. Emotion Regulation and Self-Control

Mood influences an individual’s ability to regulate emotions by affecting cognitive resources. Negative moods deplete cognitive energy, making it harder to manage emotional responses, while positive moods help conserve mental resources (Baumeister et al., 1998). Poor emotion regulation can intensify emotional reactions.

Mood → Cognitive Resources: Negative mood drains mental energy; positive mood preserves it.
Cognitive Resources → Emotion Regulation Ability: More mental energy helps control emotions; less energy weakens control.
Emotion Regulation Ability → Emotion Intensity: Poor regulation strengthens emotions; good regulation weakens them.

4. Emotional Contagion and Social Influence

Mood spreads across social environments, influencing group emotions and collective decision-making. Leaders’ moods can shape team morale, affecting emotional responses and group dynamics (Barsade, 2002). This mechanism highlights the importance of emotional influence in collaborative settings.

Mood (Individual) → Mood (Group): People’s moods spread to those around them.
Mood (Group) → Group Emotion: A shared mood creates a shared emotional state.
Group Emotion → Decision-Making Style: Positive group emotions encourage collaboration; negative emotions lead to defensiveness.

5. Neurobiological Mechanisms

Mood influences emotions through brain chemistry and neural activity. Positive moods increase dopamine levels, enhancing reward sensitivity, while negative moods activate the amygdala, heightening fear responses (Davidson, 1998). These neurobiological mechanisms shape emotional responses in decision-making.

Mood → Dopamine Levels: Positive mood boosts dopamine; negative mood lowers it.
Dopamine Levels → Reward Sensitivity: High dopamine makes people seek rewards; low dopamine reduces it.
Reward Sensitivity → Emotion: Strong reward sensitivity leads to excitement; weak sensitivity leads to caution.
Mood → Amygdala Activation: Negative mood activates the amygdala; positive mood calms it.
Amygdala Activation → Emotion: A highly active amygdala causes fear; a calm amygdala reduces it.

Influence of Emotions on Mood

Below are the mechanisms by which emotion influences mood. The diagram below visualizes the mechanisms through variables and labeled edges reflecting the rules used to describe each mechanism. Labels match section numbers below.

1. Emotional Persistence and Spillover

Emotions can have lasting effects on mood by persisting beyond their initial trigger. Strong emotions, especially when repeated, can create stable mood states over time (Bower, 1981). This mechanism explains why emotional intensity and frequency influence long-term affective states.

Emotion Intensity → Mood Duration: Stronger emotions extend the duration of mood states.
Emotion Type → Mood Valence: Positive emotions reinforce positive mood; negative emotions reinforce negative mood.
Repeated Emotional Experiences → Mood Stability: Frequent similar emotions create persistent mood states.

2. Emotion-Driven Cognitive Processing

Emotions influence cognitive processes such as memory and interpretation. Emotionally charged experiences are more likely to be encoded into memory and retrieved later, shaping baseline mood states (Schwarz & Clore, 1983). This mechanism shows how emotions bias thinking and perception over time.

Emotion → Memory Encoding: Emotional experiences shape memory storage.
Memory Encoding → Mood Formation: Stored emotional memories influence baseline mood.
Emotion → Cognitive Bias: Emotions shape how future events are interpreted.
Cognitive Bias → Mood: Bias toward negative/positive interpretations sustains corresponding mood states.

3. Emotion’s Role in Physiological States

Physiological responses to emotions, such as changes in heart rate, hormone levels, and neurotransmitter activity, contribute to mood regulation. Emotional arousal alters brain chemistry, leading to prolonged mood states (Davidson, 1998). This mechanism explains the biological link between short-term emotions and longer-term moods.

Emotion → Physiological Arousal: Emotions trigger autonomic nervous system responses.
Physiological Arousal → Neurotransmitter Levels: Changes in cortisol, serotonin, and dopamine affect baseline affective state.
Neurotransmitter Levels → Mood: Neurochemical changes sustain positive or negative mood.

4. Social and Environmental Feedback Loops

Social interactions play a critical role in mood formation. Emotional expressions influence how others respond, and this social feedback can either reinforce or change mood states (Barsade, 2002). This mechanism highlights the role of interpersonal relationships in sustaining moods.

Emotion → Social Behavior: Expressed emotions influence social interactions.
Social Behavior → Social Feedback: Responses from others reinforce or counteract emotional state.
Social Feedback → Mood: Positive reinforcement stabilizes positive mood; negative reinforcement sustains negative mood.

5. Self-Regulation and Mood Maintenance

The ability to regulate emotions determines how they influence mood. Strong emotions require greater cognitive effort to manage, and depletion of self-regulatory resources makes mood shifts less likely (Baumeister et al., 1998). This mechanism explains why cognitive fatigue prolongs emotional states.

Emotion → Self-Regulation Demand: Stronger emotions require greater cognitive effort for regulation.
Self-Regulation Demand → Cognitive Resource Depletion: High demand depletes cognitive energy, making mood regulation harder.
Cognitive Resource Depletion → Mood Stability: Low resources prevent mood shifts, extending prior emotional influences.

References

Barsade, S. G., & Gibson, D. E. (2007). Why does affect matter in organizations? Academy of Management Perspectives, 21(1), 36-59.
Bower, G. H. (1981). Mood and memory. American Psychologist, 36(2), 129-148.
Davidson, R. J. (1998). Affective style and affective disorders: Perspectives from affective neuroscience. Cognition & Emotion, 12(3), 307-330.
Ekman, P. (1992). An argument for basic emotions. Cognition & Emotion, 6(3-4), 169-200.
Forgas, J. P. (1995). Mood and judgment: The affect infusion model (AIM). Psychological Bulletin, 117(1), 39-66.
Frijda, N. H. (1986). The emotions. Cambridge University Press.
Isen, A. M. (2001). An influence of positive affect on decision making in complex situations: Theoretical issues with practical implications. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 11(2), 75-85.
Loewenstein, G., Weber, E. U., Hsee, C. K., & Welch, N. (2001). Risk as feelings. Psychological Bulletin, 127(2), 267-286.
Schwarz, N., & Clore, G. L. (1983). Mood, misattribution, and judgments of well-being: Informative and directive functions of affective states. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(3), 513-523.