The influence of induced positive and negative mood on left- and right-hemispheric task performance.
Item
-
Title
-
The influence of induced positive and negative mood on left- and right-hemispheric task performance.
-
Identifier
-
AAI9009787
-
identifier
-
9009787
-
Creator
-
Springer, Deleri.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: Howard Ehrlichman
-
Date
-
1989
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Psychology, Personality
-
Abstract
-
There is general agreement that many cognitive functions are lateralized to one or the other cerebral hemisphere and further, that these processes can be localized to the more posterior aspects of the brain. It is also believed that emotion is asymmetrically distributed although the specific pattern of lateralization is still debated. Most workers do agree though that the anterior cortical zones are primarily involved in affective processes.;Two theories have been advanced which propose that neural activity in one cortical region is accompanied by predictable changes in neural activity at other cortical sites. Since emotional and cognitive activity are associated with increased neural excitation in the brain region representing it, it follows from these theories that activation of one mental process, and hence its underlying neural structure, should influence the behavioral expression of other processes served by connected brain regions. Based on these models and on what is known about hemispheric specialization, it was hypothesized that positive and negative moods would differentially affect the performance of tasks sensitive to left and right hemispheric functions. To test these predictions, 72 right-handed females were given 3 timed tests of left hemisphere function and 3 timed tests of right hemisphere function in an initial session. At a later date, the subjects were exposed to either the elation, depression or neutral Velten Mood Induction Procedure (MIP) and administered parallel versions of the 6 cognitive tests. Self-report measures of mood were obtained before the induction procedure and then immediately before each test. Change in test score from the first to the second administration served as the dependent variable. The results did not support the predicted interactions between type of mood and type of cognitive task. With one exception, there were no significant changes in test performance. A significant main (group) effect was observed for the Arithmetic test with the neutral subjects showing improved performance and both emotion groups deteriorated performance. These findings suggest that the Velten MIP may not be an appropriate analogue of naturally occurring mood. The data also seem to suggest that reported mood effects on cognitive performance may be better understood from an information processing perspective than from a neuropsychological one.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
