| When given the opportunity to learn about ourselves, particularly when learning entails accessing negative feedback, we often experience a motivational conflict. The feedback may be precisely what is needed to satisfy long-term learning goals, suggesting that the feedback should be desirable. At the same time, it tends to work against short-term affective goals, in that it is threatening to our self-esteem and should therefore be avoided.; It has been demonstrated (Trope, Gervey & Bolger, 2002) that the resolution of this motivational conflict is contingent on the perceived affective costs and informational benefits of the feedback, suggesting (1) that self-evaluation is a pragmatic, dynamic, flexible process, and (2) that variables that alter the perceived affective costs or perceived informational benefits of feedback will affect the relative importance of engaging in short-term versus long-term self-evaluative goals.; The current research examines the role of mood and its impact on the resolution of this motivational dilemma. More specifically, the current research shows that positive mood acts as a self-evaluative resource when the value of feedback is high (studies 1 & 2) or when long-term learning goals are activated (study 3). However, positive mood plays a very different role when informational value is low (studies 1 & 2) or when short-term affective goals are activated (study 3), leading participants to adopt mood-maintenance strategies. |
