In contrast to emotions or feelings, moods are less specific, less intense and less likely to be provoked or instantiated by a particular stimulus or event.
"[1] Etymologically, the word mood derives from the Old English mōd which denoted military courage, but could also refer to a person's humor, temper, or disposition at a particular time.
The English word "mood" which means emotional condition or state of mind was originally derived from the Proto-Germanic root "moda-".
People seem to experience a positive mood when they have a clean slate, have had a good night sleep, and feel no sense of stress in their life.
Generally, positive mood has been found to enhance creative problem solving and flexible yet careful thinking.
[3] Some studies have stated that positive moods let people think creatively, freely, and be more imaginative.
The study is basically stating that it would be harder for positive moods to focus on the task at hand.
Moods are basic psychological states that can occur as a reaction to an event or can surface for no apparent external cause.
[10] In a study done by Niedenthal and Setterland (1994), research showed that individuals are tuned to perceive things that are congruent with their current mood.
Negative moods have been connected with depression, anxiety, aggression, poor self-esteem, physiological stress and decrease in sexual arousal.
In general, men were more likely than women to report increased sexual drive during negative mood states.
According to Jerry Suls, a professor at the University of Iowa, people who are depressed and anxious tend to be in rumination.
University of Pennsylvania researchers found that subjects who were limited to only 4.5 hours of sleep a night for one week reported feeling more stressed, angry, sad, and mentally exhausted.
"[13] Generally, evening oriented people, as compared to morning ones, show decreased energy and pleasantness and heightened tension.
[14] However, in a subset of cases sleep deprivation can, paradoxically, lead to increased energy and alertness and enhanced mood.
[18] Traditional dietary patterns characterized by vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, and whole grains, as opposed to a western pattern diet characterized by processed foods, refined grains, sugary products, and beer were associated with lower odds for major depression or dysthymia (mood disorder) and for anxiety disorders in women.
[26] Research studies[27] indicate that voluntary facial expressions, such as smiling, can produce effects on the body that are similar to those that result from the actual emotion, such as happiness.
[29] The idea of social mood as a "collectively shared state of mind" (Nofsinger 2005; Olson 2006) is attributed to Robert Prechter and his socionomics.
In sociology, philosophy, and psychology, crowd behavior is the formation of a common mood directed toward an object of attention.