Abstract
The present study compared mood assessments using two different response time frames. A sample of 136 school children completed the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) daily for 5 days using the response time frame, “How are you feeling right now?” On Day 5, participants completed an additional BRUMS, using the response time frame, “How have you felt over the past week including today?”. “Past week” mood assessments yielded higher scores than multiple “right now” assessments, and were particularly associated with ambient mood for confusion, depression, and vigour. Researchers should give due consideration to the influence of response time frame on mood assessments.
The authors would like to thank Chris Beedie for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this study and to the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful suggestions.
Notes
1. The Brunel Mood Scale was previously called the Profile of Mood States-Adolescents. It was renamed following the publication of recent evidence (Terry et al., 2003) showing it is equally relevant for adults.