Bad moods can actually be good for you, with an Australian study finding that being sad makes people less gullible (轻信), improves their ability to judge others and also boosts memory.
The study, authored by psychology professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales, showed that people in a negative mood were more critical of, and paid more attention to, their surroundings than happier people, who were more likely to believe anything they were
told.
"Although positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger (引发) more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world," Forgas wrote.
"Our research suggests that sadness ... promotes information processing strategies best suited to dealing with more demanding situations."
For the study, Forgas and his team conducted several experiments that started with inducing happy or sad moods in their subjects through watching films and recalling positive or negative events.
In one of the experiments, happy and sad participants were asked to judge the truth of urban myths and rumors and found that people in a negative mood were less likely to believe these statements.
People in a bad mood were also less likely to make snap decisions based on racial or religious prejudices, and they were less likely to make mistakes when asked to recall an event that they witnessed.
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodati
ve and ultimately more successful communication style."
"Positive mood is not universally desirable: people in negative mood are less prone to judgmental errors, are more resistant to eyewitness distortions（扭曲）and are better at producing high-quality, effective persuasive messages," Forgas wrote.
The study was published in the November/December edition of the Australian Science journal.
小题1:
_ The study suggests that when someone is in a bad mood, he ________ .
| A．is particular about everything | B．shows less concern about others |
| C．is willing to believe what he hears | D．cares more about his surroundings |
小题2:
_Which of the following is connected with positive mood?
| A．New ideas. | B．Being stubborn. | C．Being careful. | D．Concentration. |
小题3:
_ How did researcher put the subjects in good or bad moods?
| A．By watching sports programs. | B．By listening to happy or sad stories. |
| C．By dealing with demanding situations. | D．By thinking back on their past exp erience. |
小题4:
_ Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the text?
| A．Positive mood leads to better judgement. |
B．Sad people rem embered what they saw precisely. |
| C．Cheerful people were less likely to believe rumors. |
| D．People in bad mood tend to make quick decisions. |
小题5:
_The author intends to convince(说服) us that __________ .
| A．Joseph Forgas made a great discovery | B．bad moods can actually be good for us |
| C．we should think positively and negatively | D．the Australian study is of practical value |