Does Mood Affect Self-Concept? Analysis through a Natural Semantic Networks Based Approach

Currently, one of the most developed areas of research concerns the elucidation of the relationship between affect and cognition. The main objective of this experimental study is to examine the effects of mood on self-concept, or more precisely, on the elaboration or conceptualization of the self-concept in-the-moment. A useful technique that has recently started to be used in research concerning self-concept was used: The Natural Semantic Networks Technique. The data was analyzed using a graphics tracing technique, which allows an accurate visualization of the network elements (i.e. self-concept defining words) and of the centrality that the elements have in that network. The results support the hypothesis that mood affects in-the-moment judgments of self-concept