Via a series of very interesting and distracting blog posts I've stumbled upon the site Moodscope, which offers a free daily tracking of mood. The site has been created as a tool to improve one's mood through regularly completing a stripped version of the PANAS (positive affect negative affect schedule; Watson, Clark, and Tellegen, 1988). This is a very simple approach, which claims to draw from findings that have gone down in psychology folklore: the Hawthorne Effect.The Hawthorne effect is the change of behaviour just through observation. During a series of studies, factory workers' productivity increased when the lights were turned up, but productivity also increased when the lights were dimmed. Productivity slumped once the studies had been completed. As a result, the conclusion was drawn that workers' productivity was more closely related to simply being observed as part of a study than any specific change in luminance. However, this effect is repeatedly brought under fire with some arguing against its existence or contribution to effects reported.
In any case, there is something to be said for simply being made aware of one's own mood state (regardless of whether it's due to being observed). A study on trainee teachers indicates that higher mood awareness can relate to an increase in use of engagement mood regulation strategies, which include rationalisation, reappraisal, venting, and seeking social support. Engagement strategies, with the exception of venting, have been linked to greater perception of emotion regulation success and higher self reports of feeling cheerful, calm, and energetic (Totterdell & Parkinson, 1999).
Awareness of moods might not be a panacea though. As with much in life, it's what you do with it that counts - a category of awareness of moods, mood monitoring, has been linked with rumination, a mood-regulation strategy that prolongs negative moods (Swinkels and Giuliano, 1995). Mood monitoring is described in their paper as agreeing with statements such as "I often evaluate my mood" and "I am sensitive to changes in my mood". In contrast, their other defined category, mood labelling, is associated with more adaptive methods of mood-regulation. Mood labelling is described by statements such as "I don't have trouble naming my feelings" and "I am usually tuned in to my emotions".
Swinkels and Giuliano describe the difference between labelling and monitoring in terms of being sick and a hypochondriac. If you are sick you can know what the condition is and how to best treat it. In contrast, hypochondria may include mislead concern about health and a state of vague unease, which has a less clear means of treatment. To return this analogy to affective states it could be the difference between "I'm feeling angry; I need to calm down" and "I don't like how I'm feeling."
Moodscope may encourage more of the latter type of mood awareness (although this is just my own speculation). Cards are presented with 20 affective states found in the PANAS and for each state a rating of how intense you feel it needs to be selected. The selection method by which you do this is really inventive and genuinely causes you to stop and think to what extent you feel each state.
Finally, the site encourages you to share the daily score with those close to you and it even sets up automated emailing to share your score should you wish. I understand that this is in part to really drive home that your results are being observed in order to maximise any Hawthorne effect (if it does exist). On top of this, it provides an immediate link to a supportive social circle - the target audience for this site appears to be those that want to improve their mood. Social support is intimately tied with wellbeing and negative moods can encourage social withdrawal, limiting recovery back to a more positive state. This simple approach may help reduce such a cycle.
I've signed up and will have a look at how well it operates across a longer term, including measures such as relative stability, weekly cycles and face validity of it matching my perceived positive or negative state. I'm sceptical that it is the Hawthorne effect at work & think any changes in mood are more likely to be mood awareness, which may help or hinder depending on individual differences. At this point I won't be sharing my scores.
photo links to source
Swinkels, A., & Giuliano, T. A. (1995). The measurement and conceptualization of mood awareness: Attention directed towards one's mood states. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 934-949.
Totterdell, P., & Parkinson, B. (1999) Use and Effectiveness of Self-Regulation Strategies for Improving Mood in a Group of Trainee Teachers. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology 4(3) 219-232
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. 1988. Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54: 1063-1070
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I don't get it. Are you saying the Moodscope people believe that using their tool results in the Hawthorn Effect? If you are then I agree that they are wrong. If you aren't then it isn't clear why you are are speculating that beneficial results from the Moodscope tool are examples of the Hawthorn effect, given that you later suggest that this is unlikely.
ReplyDeleteSorry, it should have been made more explicit. The blurb on the moodscope's "how it works" page argues that it's due to the hawthorne effect. http://www.moodscope.com/about.php
ReplyDeleteGiven that this is the central premise for their approach, I am assuming that their mailing of results to your friends is done in part with the intention to amplify any hawthorne effect (which I doubt is actually the causal factor for any mood change).
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks Dave
ReplyDeleteDave how have you found Moodscope in use since your post - can you update us?
ReplyDelete