Mood management
The theory of Mood Management ( Mood Management states) that people use media to their mood ( "mood") to regulate ( "manage"), so it assumes that the choice of media products and media entertainment of Emotions or is influenced by the mood of the recipient . The term was first used in 1986 by the US researcher Dolf Zillmann in the context of media psychology . Was shown that subjectsWith a high level of activation, more likely to choose relaxing TV programs, subjects with low levels of activation (boredom) preferred activating programs. The aim of the recipient is to balance inner tension. Depending on the mood, the tension should be raised, maintained or reduced. The social context, temporal effects, etc. were largely not taken into account in these studies. Critics also criticize the limited informative value of the laboratory experiments carried out on transferring them to everyday life. Meanwhile, the theory of mood management is also used in advertising psychologyused and has been expanded accordingly. Mikunda uses this to explain the success of purely emotional pavilions at world exhibitions. A popular example of this is the use of special background music in retail, which is intended to influence the mood of consumers in the store. For current results, see e.g. B.
literature
Zillmann, D: Mood Management (1988): Using Entertainment to Full Advantage . In: L. Donohew, HE Sypher & ET Higgins (Eds.), Communication, social cognition and affect . Hillsdale: Erlbaum, pp. 147-172.