Mood is a comparatively lasting emo or affective state of mind. Mood differs from emotions in the grounds that they are less specific, several times less intense, less likely to be sparked off by a particular event or stimulus, however long lasting it may be. Moods do have either a negative or positive valence. To make it clear it can be said in this way that people speak often about bad or good mood. Very much unlike emotional, acute feelings like surprise and fear, moods normally last for hours or days. Mood is differs to a certain degree from personality traits or temperaments which are even more universal and long lasting. Personality traits like neuroticism or optimism incline to predispose various types of moods. Mood is a vital, subjective state, but it can often be deduced from various postures and other observable behaviors.
Emption is different from Mood. Emotion is sort of a complex reaction pattern which involves behavioral, experiential and physiological elements, with the help of which an individual gets assistance in dealing with a personally important matter of event.
It develops without the conscious attempt and it is either negative or positive.
Mood generally possesses a negative or positive valence. Valence is a term which is used in psychology, mainly to discuss about emotions which means the intrinsically attractive quality or positive valence and sometimes aversive ness which means negative valence of an object, event or situation. The term is also used several times to categorize and characterize particular emotions. For instance, the emotions which are termed popularly as negative, like fear and anger possess negative valence. Joy contains positive valence. Emotions containing positive valence are aroused by positively valenced objects, events or situations. This term is used several times about the hedonic tone of affect, feelings or certain behaviors, attainment or non-attainment of goals and abidance with or violation of norms. Some of the personality traits like Neuroticism and Optimism do predispose various types of Moods.
Neuroticism is a primal personality trait which is included in the study of psychology. It is defined as an abiding tendency to experience the state of negative emotions. Those scoring more on neuroticism are more susceptible to experience some of the feelings like anger, anxiety, clinical depression and guilt. These people have a very poor response towards environmental stress and have more chances to understand ordinary situations as threatening and other minor frustrations. They are self-conscious during most of the time and are also shy.
Optimism is one of the personality traits which predispose Mood. It is an outlook on life, as one maintains a positive view of the world. It can be considered an opposite to pessimism. Optimists usually believe that events and people are very good all the time and therefore most of the situations work out in the end producing the best results.
A common riddle exemplifies pessimism-versus-optimism that whether a glass of water be considered half empty or half full. Established wisdom expects that the reply from the optimists should be that the glass of water is half full and the reply from the pessimists should be that the glass of water is half empty. It is assumed that half is bad and full is good.
To know more about Mood click on the following links:
Mood Rings
Mood Swings
Mood Disorders
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