Does mood really influence comparativ e optimism? Tr acking an elusiv ee ffect

Methodological limitations call into question prior evidence that positive moods are associated with greater comparative optimism. Experiments 1–4 tested if mood affects comparative optimism using a mood manipulation that minimized experimenter demand. While the procedure was successful in inducing mood, we found no evidence for a mood effect on comparative optimism. The absence of a mood effect was not due to participants correcting their judgments in response to a presumed mood bias (Experiments 2, 3 and 4) or to participants proactively regulating their mood (Experiments 3 and 4). Experiment 5 compared the mood manipulation of Experiments 1–4 with an autobiographical recall procedure. Although the two methods were equally effective in inducing mood, only autobiographical recall influenced participants’ comparative optimism. Study 6 provides preliminary evidence that experimenter demand may be responsible for the effects of autobiographical recall on comparative judgments. Three decades of research reveals that people believe that positive events are more likely and negative events are less likely to happen to them than to others. This