Effects of Mood States on Variety Seeking: The Moderating Roles of Personality

Building upon previous research and in an attempt to better understand the influence of mood states on variety-seeking (VS) tendency, two specific emotional states (sadness and happiness) are discussed. Furthermore, this article proposes that the effects of mood states on VS are moderated by individuals' differences. In this article, optimum stimulation level, self-monitoring, and need for cognition are used to examine the moderating effects of this relationship. Consistent with the proposed hypotheses, the results indicate that sad individuals tend to incorporate more VS than happy ones. In addition, the three personality types tested in this article moderate the effects of mood on VS. Finally, suggestions for future research are discussed. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.