Inducing Positive Mood without Demand Characteristics

Abstract

The possibility that a state of private self-awareness induced by a small mirror can facilitate the effect of procedures which induce a positive mood was investigated. Participants were 171 female and 60 male undergraduates who were randomly assigned to one of six conditions in a 2 (Mirror vs No-mirror) x 3 (Control vs Velten manipulation vs Music manipulation) design. As predicted, participants who experienced the Velten and Music manipulations in the presence of the mirror reported elevated mood relative to control participants. The mood of participants who experienced the Velten and Music manipulations without the mirror did not differ from the mood of control participants. The potential benefits of using a small mirror as a substitute for explicit instructions about the expected effect of mood-induction procedures are discussed.

Development and Validation of the Situational Self-Awareness Scale

“…According to Buss (1980), the small mirror and guided personal memory recall conditions should induce private self-awareness; the large mirror and video camera conditions should induce public self-awareness. These techniques have been reported to successfully induce situational public or private self-awareness based on participants' behavior on an outcome variable that is related to self-awareness (e.g., Alden et al, 1992;Govern & Marsch, 1997;Webb et al, 1989).…”

“…This presents a dilemma for researchers who study the effects of self-awareness manipulations. Sometimes no direct manipulation check is used (e.g., Baldwin & Holmes, 1987, Experiment 1; Gibbons & Wicklund, 1982, Experiment 1;Govern & Marsch, 1997;Scheier & Carver, 1980). In such cases, researchers generally infer that the manipulation was successful based on participants' behavior on an outcome variable that is theoretically influenced by public or private self-awareness.…”

“…For example, public self-awareness can be induced in the laboratory by exposing participants to a full-length mirror (e.g., Webb, Marsh, Schneiderman, & Davis, 1989, Experiment 4) or a video camera (e.g., Alden, Teschuk, & Tee, 1992). Private self-awareness can be induced by instructions to focus on personal thoughts and feelings (e.g., Webb et al, 1989, Experiment 3) or by exposing participants to a small mirror that reveals only the participant's head and shoulders (e.g., Govern & Marsch, 1997).…”

The importance of social context in the facilitation of emotional expression in men

“…To save time and avoid redundant statements, 31 of the original 50 statements were used and the statements used were printed individually on 3" × 5" index cards. The Velten mood manipulation has been used effectively for a wide variety of participants (see Finegan & Seligman, 1995), and it has also been shown to be quite ephemeral, thus minimizing any ill effects (Govern & Marsch, 1997;Isen & Gorgoglione, 1983).…”