The effect of induced mood on fear reduction

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Abstract
The effect of mood on fear reduction was investigated in a laboratory study of fearful people. A musical mood‐induction technique was utilized to induce either a happy mood or a sad mood in 84 female university students fearful of spiders or snakes. Following the mood induction, subjects' fears were reduced by participant modelling. Measures of subjective fear and self‐efficacy were taken before and after mood induction, after modelling, and four weeks later. Compared to the induced sad‐mood condition, induced happiness was followed by a decrease in subjective fear and greater self‐efficacy. No difference was found in the length of time taken to reduce fear for happy and sad subjects. Fear reduction during a sad mood was associated with greater return of fear than fear reduction during a happy mood.

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