Effects of mood on learning.

Explored the influence of elated and depressed moods on (a) the affective evaluation of sentences and (b) efficiency in learning these sentences. 105 college students were given sentences from Time magazine that were modified to insure structural equivalence and selected to elicit pleasant and unpleasant reactions. Ss were asked to rate the sentences on affect, memorize them, and recall them. Results indicate that elated moods facilitate the clear differentiation between pleasant and unpleasant sentences as well as the remembrance of them. Depressed moods lead to indifferent evaluations, less recall of propositions, and more total zero recall. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)