Conceptualizing Mood Influences on Information Processing in Groups via Dominant Cognitive Processing Strategies

Abstract

This conceptual integration addresses how positive and negative mood states influence information processing in groups. In addition to the impact of mood on attention and arousal, the review develops the notion of dominant cognitive processing strategies that mediate the influence of positive and negative moods on information processing in groups. Positive moods are proposed to reinforce dominant cognitive processing strategies while negative moods inhibit or revise such dominant cognitive processing strategies. Principles derived from several mood-cognition models are applied to group information processes related to attention, encoding, storage, retrieval, processing objectives, response, and feedback. The impacts of mood states are discussed in relation to group themes of convergence-divergence, commonality-uniqueness, and accentuation-attenuation of cognitive processes. The analysis leads to new implications for small group topics such as metacognition, group learning, motivated information processing in groups, communication, mood dynamics, and mood composition. The principles described can inspire numerous directions for future research.

Socially shared affect: Shared affect, affect sharing, and affective processing in groups.

“…Likewise, group involvement and group interaction will diminish the degree of shared affect for uniquely held affect as well as be less likely to share (transfer, communicate) affect that group members tended not to be sharing (exchange). The earlier discussion in this review about shared affect and affect sharing provides a basis for this assertion (see also Hinsz & Robinson, 2023). There are important implications of the shared affect and affect sharing biases such as the mutual enhancement and mutual support in the sharing of feelings that are felt among group members involved and interacting in groups (Wittenbaum & Park, 2001).…”

“…Given the coordination needs and reduced tempo of affective appraisal processes in groups, there may be greater interaction of affect and cognition in socially shared affective appraisals. Consequently, both moods and emotions could provide more feedback to group members about the nature of their affective experiences (Hinsz & Robinson, 2023). To aid our consideration of appraisal processes for socially shared affect, we have drawn upon notions from socially shared cognition such as shared representations (Tindale et al, 1996).…”

“…The central tendency of the distribution of affective responses provides a notion of where the group or set of groups is generally located on the response scale. If the distribution of group affective responses is skewed, then group involvement results in an exaggeration of the underlying group affective responses (Hinsz & Robinson, 2023; Tiedens et al, 2004). If the distribution is examined at the level of the group, then movement toward the affective response of one of the group members would be indicative of contagion.…”

“…Shared affective experiences should also result in accentuation of the valence of the affective state among group members. Much like group polarization of affective ratings, accentuation can occur when reported valence of the affect becomes more intense or extreme in groups (Barsade & Gibson, 1998; Hinsz & Robinson, 2023). For instance, if group members share an experience of injustice and share the accompanying anger, the shared anger will become more pronounced among group members.…”