IRONIC PROCESSES IN THE MENTAL CONTROL OF MOOD AND MOOD-RELATED THOUGHT

The mental control of mood and mood-related thought was investigated. In Experiment 1, Ss reminiscing about a happy or sad event were asked to make their mood positive, were given no instructions, or were asked to make their mood negative. Ss attempting mood control without an im posed cognitive load were successful, whereas those who attempted cont rol while rehearsing a 9-digit number not only failed to control their moods but also showed self-reported mood change opposite the mood the y intended to create. In Experiment 2, Ss attempting to control mood-r elated thoughts under cognitive load showed increased accessibility of those thoughts contrary to the direction of intended control in a Str oop-type color-naming task.