| Summary: | Affective
states can change how people react to measures aimed at influencing their
decisions such as providing a default option. Previous research has shown that
when defaults maintain the status quo positive mood increases reliance on the
default and negative mood decreases it. Similarly, it has been demonstrated
that positive mood enhances the preference for inaction. We extend this
research by investigating how mood states influence reliance on the default if
the default leads to a change, thus pitting preference for status quo against a
preference for inaction. Specifically, we tested in an online study how
happiness and sadness influenced reliance on two types of default (1) a default
maintaining status quo and (2) a default inducing change. Our results suggest
that the effect of emotions depends on the type of default: people in a happy
mood were more likely than sad people to follow a default when it maintained
status quo but less likely to follow a default when it introduced change. These
results are in line with mood maintenance theory.
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