Is the Mood-as-Input Hypothesis Applicable to Post-Event Processing? An Experimental Investigation

Purpose of this study was to examine the applicability of the Mood-As-Input Hypothesis (MAIH) to post-event processing.

Following a speech task, participants completed a modified catastrophic interview procedure, referred to as the PEP-CIP, under one of two stop rule conditions (i.e., ‘as-many-as-can’ (AMAC) or ‘feel like’ (FL)). Further, anxiety was assessed immediately before the completion of the interview. It was hypothesized that participants assigned to the AMAC stop rule condition and with higher levels of anxiety would complete the greatest number of steps in the PEP-CIP interview (a greater number of steps is consistent with more perseveration).

This hypothesis was supported, as main effects were found for stop rules, with a greater number of steps in the AMAC condition, and for anxiety, with a greater number of steps in the high anxiety condition.

Overall, it appears that the MAIH is applicable to post-event processing. Potential implications for subsequent research and clinical practice are discussed.