Variability of the relationship between personality and mood

Previous research devoted to the relationship between personality and mood has revealed different correlation magnitudes. We believe that the specific situations in which mood was measured were presumably responsible for the discrepancy between the results of these studies. We examined the same group of people in various situations which differed in terms of the cognitive demands. We measured the personality traits (neuroticism and extraversion) of students as well as three mood dimensions (energetic arousal, tense arousal and hedonic tone). Their mood was assessed three times: during lectures (neutral situation) and, a few weeks later, just before exams and immediately afterwards (performance situation). The results indicate that the relationships between these two major personality traits and mood dimensions are not stable and vary across situations.

► We measured students’ neuroticism, extraversion and three dimensions of mood. ► The mood was assessed during lectures and before and after exams. ► The relationships between personality and mood varied across situations.