| Prior research on mood management through media consumption has encountered mixed results. This study seeks to resolve this controversy by incorporating time of measurement into the examination of regulatory outcomes. It also seeks to identify trait-like cognitive moderators that are presumably involved in the regulation of negative moods. This study was conducted in the context of music consumption in response to sad mood induction.; Results showed that sad mood initially fostered longer listening to the type of music that was compatible to the mood. With the passage of time however, sad respondents decreased their listening to this type of music, in favor of more upbeat tunes that would help combat their aversive state. This pattern of preference development could not be accounted for by the "limited selections" or the "mood dissipation" explanation, thereby suggesting the merits of considering temporal changes in the mood repair process. In addition, traits such as ruminative tendency, expectancies for negative mood regulation, and those in the self-regulatory domain of emotional intelligence, were found to be implicated in how people cope with their sad mood. Implications of these findings and directions for future research were discussed. |
