1) What are the advantages of "good mood" or positive emotion? What is the purpose of negative emotions or bad moods?

2) Does "good mood" or positive emotion harm? Do negative emotions or bad moods have negative consequences? The main concern is to show conditions for desirable and undesirable effects of both positive (pleasant) and negative (unpleasant) emotions, taking into account important theoretical conception

In summation, the influence of moods on cognitive processes is reflected in the reception, selection, processing, and retrieval of information, as well as by facilitating or blocking various forms of thinking. From the results reported so far, it is possible to deduce beneficial effects of positive emotions: better processing of positive information as well as a more positive assessment of oneself and the environment. This can be seen both in the area of performance, e.g., through increased willingness to make an effort, more positive self-assessment, considerable confidence in success, and increased creativity, and in the social context, through increased sociability and helpfulness. It is all the more remarkable, as Aspinwall (1998) points out, that in traditional approaches to mood research there is a tendency to judge the effect of positive emotion as rather detrimental to performance compared to negative emotion. The reasoning behind this is as follows: Individuals in a positive mood would have general difficulties processing information, especially information of negative valence; positive mood is associated with superficial, simplified processing, underestimation of risks, and less goal-directed behavior; moreover, mood-maintaining cognitions and behaviors would always take center stage in the positive mood state (Edlinger & Hascher, 2008).

However, positive mood does not necessarily lead to poorer processing of negative information. Indeed, if the information is self-relevant or important, more attention is also paid to negative information and it is processed more carefully. Moreover, findings by Abele (1995) make clear that positive mood is not associated with a unified heuristic, but rather with a "flexible" thinking style. This is characterized by a high fluency of ideas, but also by a strong orientation towards the specific task characteristics. Thus, positive mood increases the speed of perception and processing and even the performance in logical reasoning. (Abele, 1995)

From the results presented so far, predominantly beneficial effects of positive emotions and moods can be deduced. However, it does not follow from this that negative moods must necessarily lead to performance losses. Under certain conditions, negative moods can also support task processing. Equally important is the finding that emotions or moods rarely have a direct impact on performance, because cognition and motivation play the role of mediating processes between emotions and learning (Edlinger & Hascher 2008).

Abele, A. (1994). Auswirkungen von Wohlbefinden. Oder. Kann gute Laune schaden? In A. Abele & P. Becker (Hg.), Wohlbefinden (S. 297-325). Wein- heim: Juventa.

Aspinwall, L. G. (1998). Rethinking the role of positive affect in self- regulation. Motivation and Emotion, 22(1), 1-32.

Edlinger, H., & Hascher, T. (2008). Von der Stimmungs-zur Unterrichtsforschung: Uberlegungen zur Wirkung von Emotionen auf schulisches Lernen und Leisten. Unterrichtswissenschaft, 36(1), 55.

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