In a study of children, researchers wanted to assess how mood effected goal-setting and performance.

It was predicted that goal level would drive performance but the results said otherwise... Researchers induced either a happy or sad mood through asking children to think of happy or sad thoughts for a minute. Then they gave them a set of a simple problem solving tasks and asked them how many they thought they would complete in five minutes. Then they worked for five minutes and tallied the results.

A happy mood led to setting significantly higher goals and superior performance.

A similar study looking at negative, neutral, and positive mood found positive mood facilitated learning and retention while sad mood hindered it — both relative to neutral.

REFERENCES

• Hom, H.L., Arbuckle, B. Mood induction effects upon goal setting and performance in young children. Motiv Emot 12, 113–122 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992168
• Masters, J. C., Barden, R. C., & Ford, M. E. (1979). Affective states, expressive behavior, and learning in children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 380-390.

BF00992168.pdf

Keywords & Nodes

• problem solving
• performance
• learning and memory
• Happiness improves cognitive performance.