Previous research has shown that respondents in sad moods are likely t
o elaborate persuasive messages and to be highly persuaded by strong b
ut not weak arguments. In contrast, respondents in happy moods are les
s likely to elaborate persuasive messages and hence show equal, modera
te, persuasion by both strong and weak arguments. To examine how mood-
related persuasion effects might be moderated by attributions concerni
ng the source of a person's mood, students were approached on days wit
h either pleasant or unpleasant weather and were asked to participate
in a survey relating to higher education. Participants either were or
were not cued to the weather as a source of their mood. They listened
to either strong or weak arguments supporting the implementation of co
mprehensive examinations for graduating students. Attitudes toward com
prehensive exams were measured. Participants reported more positive mo
ods on pleasant days than on unpleasant days. When the weather was not
made salient, weather (i.e., mood) interacted with argument strength:
When weather was unpleasant, argument strength had an effect on attit
udes, but when weather was pleasant, argument strength had no effect.
In contrast, when participants were cued to the weather, there were no
weather effects on persuasion; instead, attitudes were affected only
by argument strength. Implications, mechanisms, and directions for fut
ure research are discussed.