Two studies examined the effects of mood on perceptions of intragroup variability. Following exposure to positive, neutral, or negative mood-inducing stimuli, subjects read information about behaviors performed by members of a group. The group was either high or low in intragroup behavioral variability. In contrast to those in a neutral mood, subjects in a positive or negative mood did not produce differential variability judgments for the two groups. Experiment 2 replicated this finding and indicated that happy, but not sad, subjects showed other indexes of reduced processing. Possible cognitive and motivational mechanisms underlying reduced perception of intragroup variability are discussed.
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