Weather and Mood Essays - Abnormal Psychology, Psychiatry

Weather and Mood Name: Elmeera Bezheh Tutor: Wednesday 6:30pm - 7;30pm Student ID: 101035595 Swinburne University of Technology "I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the assessment declaration." Weather and Mood For a long period of time, people have used their experience to come to the conclusion that meteorological factors are connected with different human behaviors and emotions like mood (Park et al, 2013). For instance, there are those who believe that rainy days affect them emotionally while there are those who are cheered up by warm weather. However, beyond personal experiences, studies have established a link between weather and mood, though this has been done on a relatively small scale. With the increased availability of large scale data about the thoughts and emotions of people, it has become possible to have an accurate assessment of the effect that weather has on people's mood. Due to the focus on the importance of mental health today, research on the relationship between mood and weather will have major practical applications (Park et al, 2013). This paper analyzes the relationship between weather and mood. Mood describes an emotional state, positive or negative, which changes in responses to the circumstances one faces in life at a particular point in time. According to Russell (2003), moods are always undifferentiated. In addition, they are slower to change. They are also objectless in the sense that people might not understand the cause of the mood. For instance, one could feel down or sad and this could go for days or moths when it comes to depression and he or she might not understand the cause. The perfect way to contemplate about mood measures is to understand the areas they are capturing. There are questionnaires which target particular areas like depression and vitality. There are also those that target the wider aspects of positive and negative effect. It is a common and prevalent notion that individuals are more depressed during bad weather. Despite this, Huifers et al (2010) noted that there are limited studies to establish whether meteorological factors like sunshine can in essence account for differences and changes in moods. The weak but important connection that exists between weather and mood is among the most debated topics. Though the statement appears intuitively clear, experimental confirmation of this connection has not been easy. Studies h on the different impacts of weather on mood are relatively low in terms of numbers. According to Scott (2007), these studies are not easy to interpret. They are also affected by different variables and mixed results. The majority focus on the connection between weather and mood. A study seeking to establish the relationship between weather and mood was conducted by Persinger (1975). The results showed that lower moods are linked to fewer sunshine hours. These moods are also connected to higher relative humidity. The main point was that mood reports could portray weak response to weather fluctuation. In a separate study comparing mental process and cold weather, Palinkas (2001) established that low temperatures have an effect on attention span, memory, and different cognitive processes. There is proof of a dose- response connection entailing a reduction in cognitive performance in regard to reduction in body temperature. Despite this, it is not clear whether these effects are as a result of distraction or they are caused by increased anxiety. Other studies seek to link perception of weather to the areas where people live and their individual attributes. In the same vein, Scott (2007) noted that those who are relocated are vulnerable to fluctuations in mood caused by novel weather conditions. In yet another study, it was established that individual differences could have an impact on how people see the weather (Denissen et al, 2008). They reiterate the fact that there have been no studies on variations in sensitivity to weather in the past. However, other studies propose a connection between seasonality on one hand and personality on the other, particularly regarding neuroticism as an attribute. Denissen et al (2008) employed the Big Five Inventory Test so as to establish whether the weather impacts differently people individuals with different personality traits. The test focused on extraversion, agreeableness, and openness. There was also focus on conscientiousness and neuroticism. They analyzed the impacts of different weather parameters including temperature, air pressure, and rainfall and wind power on mood. The major impacts of sunshine, temperature, and wind on negative affect were revealed. In this regard, it became clear that the sunshine has a major