The effect of mood induction in a risky decision-making task

Abstract

The Velten mood induction procedure was used to create positive, negative, and neutral mood states in subjects who were asked to evaluate a series of risk-taking scenarios. Significant mood effects were found in the evaluations of the first—and most personal—scenario. Subjects in the positive state were most apt to indicate a willingness to risk a medical operation, and subjects in the negative state were least willing to take the risk. Results were discussed in terms of the relationship between mood and the framing of information in risky decision making. Both a positive mood and a positive frame produce more favorable evaluations of a stimulus than do a negative mood and a negative frame.