EFFECTS OF GOOD VERSUS BAD MOOD AND OPTIMISTIC VERSUS PESSIMISTIC OUTLOOK ON SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE VERSUS REJECTION

Previous studies show that depressed persons are rejected more than nondepressed. This research examined how two reflections of depression-negative mood and pessimistic outlook-influence social acceptance (willingness to engage in social interaction). Subjects read transcripts of an interview of another college student, then made ratings about this person. In one study, expressed bad mood led to rejection, expressed good mood led to acceptance. When mood was neutral (but not otherwise), statements about outlook also had an influence, with pessimism causing more rejection than optimism. In another study, in which cues of chronicity were removed from the manipulation of mood, mood and outlook had independent effects on acceptance, with that of outlook being stronger than that of mood. Discussion addresses the role of chronicity of valenced qualities as influences on person perception, and the issue of generalization from person perception to the broader context of social interaction.