THE EFFECT OF UNPLEASANT MOOD AND INVOLVEMENT ON INFORMATION-PROCESSING IN PERSUASION

This study investigated the effect of unpleasant mood and involvement on the processing of persuasive communication. It was hypothesized that unpleasant mood would facilitate the processing of a message on a highly self-involving topic but inhibit that on a low self-involving topic. Mood-inducing films were used to induce unpleasant or neutral mood. Results indicated that unpleasant mood facilitated cognitive processing of the message in both the conditions of high and low involvement. Moreover, subjects in unpleasant mood evaluated plausibility of the message and communicator's credibility and likability more carefully than subjects in neutral mood. Consistent with the findings of Schwarz, Bless, and Bohner (1991), the present results indicate that unpleasant mood Facilitates elaborated processing.