The influence of mood on the willingness to take financial risks

The purpose of this study was to determine whether support could be found for either the Affect Infusion Model or the Mood Maintenance Hypothesis regarding how mood influences financial risk tolerance. An ordinary least-squares regression model was used to determine if people who exhibited a happy mood at the time they completed a survey scored differently than those who were not happy. In a sample (n=460) of employed mid-western respondents between the ages of 18 and 75 years, being in a happy mood was positively associated with having a higher level of financial risk tolerance, holding biopsychosocial and environmental factors constant. Support for the Affect Infusion Model was obtained.