How seasons, weather, and part of day influence baseline affective valence in laboratory research participants?

ABSTRACT: Many people believe that weather influences their emotional state. Along similar lines, some researchers in affective science are concerned whether testing individuals at a different time of year, a different part of the day, or in different weather conditions (e.g., in a cold and rainy morning vs. a hot evening) influences how research participants feel upon entering a study; thus inflating the measurement error. Few studies have investigated the link between baseline affective levels and the research context, such as seasonal and daily weather fluctuation in temperature, air pressure, and sunshine duration. We examined whether individuals felt more positive or negative upon entering a study by clustering data across seven laboratory experiments (total N = 1108), three seasons, and daily

SUBMITTER: Behnke M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8376062 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature