Abstract
This study investigated self-focused affect of differential influences on other focused affect in relationship with asymmetry of the effect of positive and negative affects. The influence of affect on cognitive processes is thought to occur in two phases: trait accessibility and trait applicability. The former occurs automatically, while the latter is moderated by several factors such as affect control motivation. Namely, self-focused affect influences trait applicability differently than other-focused affect. Both were induced by asking participants to recall past experiences toward self or other. To clarify trait accessibility, a word association task was used in which participants were asked to fill in the blanks of positive, neutral, and negative words. To explore trait applicability, an impression formation task was used, which asked subjects to rate an ambiguously described target person on several traits. Results suggest that for a word association task, a mood-congruency effect was obtained in both self-focused affect and other-focused affect. Impression formation task data revealed effects on neither self-focused affect nor other-focused affect. Results were discussed in terms of individual differences of affective reactions in interpersonal cognition.
