Equity and Affect: The Effects of Relative Performance and Moods on Resource Allocation

Abstract

This investigation examined the interactive effects of moods and performance on allocations of reward. Ninety-seven undergraduate students were randomly assigned to six treatment conditions. Mood (happy, neutral, sad) and relative performance (better than competitor, worse than competitor) were factorially combined to produce a 2 x 3 design. It was hypothesized that results consistent with equity theory (performance main effect) and mood research (main effect for mood with happy subjects acting selfishly and sad subjects behaving generously) would be found. Following the inductions, subjects divided 100 raffle tickets between themselves and their competitors. As expected, main effects for mood and performance reached or approached conventional levels of significance. However, these findings were qualified by a significant interaction between mood and performance. In general, moods affected allocations for worse performers but not for better performers. These findings are discussed in terms of the effects moods are believed to have on attentional focus, which is thought to mediate subsequent allocations.