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The Impact of Negative Affect on Performance Standards: Evidence for an Affect-as-Information Mechanism

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Abstract

Two experiments investigated the influence of negative affect on self-regulatory cognition, including the mechanism by which negative affect may induce comparatively higher standards for performance. Both studies tested affect-as-information theory using a discounting manipulation. As predicted, induced negative affect generated comparatively higher minimal performance standards except under conditions in which the mood induction procedure was made highly salient. Negative affect had no impact on perceived self-efficacy. Results directly support the hypothesis that an affect-as-information mechanism underlies the impact of negative affect on performance standards. We discuss these findings both in terms of the affectively laden constructive processes through which people adopt standards for evaluating their actions and the role these processes may play in the perfectionism that is sometimes associated with depression.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming

    Walter D. Scott

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

    Daniel Cervone

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Scott, W.D., Cervone, D. The Impact of Negative Affect on Performance Standards: Evidence for an Affect-as-Information Mechanism. Cognitive Therapy and Research 26, 19–37 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013837520031

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