The proposed research is designed to investigate reactions to and strategic presentation of three moods in two types of social relationships. The moods are sadness, irritability and happiness. The types of relationships are close (communal) relationships and more formal (exchange) relationships. The research will take place in three phases. Phase I will include investigations of inferences people draw about sad, irritable and happy others and their behavioral reactions to such others' (in both communal and exchange relationships.) Phase II will include investigations of whether and when people strategically display each of these three moods to elicit desired reactions from others (again, in both communal and exchange relationships.) Finally, research in Phase III is aimed at whether and how reactions to and strategic presentations of sadness, irritability and happiness change over the development of communal and exchange relationships. Using investigations of sadness to illustrate the type of work to be conducted in each phase, Phase I includes tests of the hypotheses that: a) sadness will lead to perceptions of helplessness and dependence and, b) displaying sadness will be seen as appropriate and will elicit help in communal but not in exchange relationships. Phase II includes a test of the hypothesis that: c) people in communal but not in exchange relationships will strategically present themselves as sad in order to elicit help from others. Finally, Phase III includes a test of the hypothesis that: d) as people become more certain of their communal relationships, displays of sadness will increase in frequency whereas there will be few changes in people's tendency to display sadness over the course of exchange relationships. This research should have important applied implications. For example, displaying negative moods has been shown to have clear detrimental effects both on others' evaluations of the sad person (e.g. Coyne, 1976) and on the person's own mental state. However, people often display such moods. Discovering some of the social benefits of displaying these moods should suggest other behaviors which do not have the same negative side effects, and which might be effectively substituted for displays of negative moods.
| Williamson, G M; Clark, M S (1989) Providing help and desired relationship type as determinants of changes in moods and self-evaluations. J Pers Soc Psychol 56:722-34 |
| Milberg, S; Clark, M S (1988) Moods and compliance. Br J Soc Psychol 27 ( Pt 1):79-90 |
| Clark, M S; Reis, H T (1988) Interpersonal processes in close relationships. Annu Rev Psychol 39:609-72 |
| Clark, M S; Ouellette, R; Powell, M C et al. (1987) Recipient's mood, relationship type, and helping. J Pers Soc Psychol 53:94-103 |
| Clark, M S; Mills, J; Powell, M C (1986) Keeping track of needs in communal and exchange relationships. J Pers Soc Psychol 51:333-8 |
