What is it about?

This paper discusses the difficulties of measuring mood repeatedly over a few hours, as might be wanted to assess the effect of a food, or drink on mood. It points out that mood rating scales are not uncomplicated measures of how people "really" feel, but involve complex thought processes. It suggests a minimalistic 10 item method of rating mood repeatedly, and discusses ways of assessing mood that do not rely entirely on self-report.

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Why is it important?

Many foods, drinks, vitamins etc., are taken because people believe that they will improve their mood in some sense, such as giving them more energy, making them happier, making them cleverer, or making them more alert. But it is really difficult to measure mood to test whether food and drink actually has such effects. This paper helps to do that better.

Perspectives

Because of the difficulties of measuring mood, we got interested in it as part of research on human feeding. We have been working on the theory underlying this paper for 15 years now. The theoretical companion paper - which is quite a tough read - is Hammersley, R. & Reid, M. (2009). Modelling transient mood changes after ingestion. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 33, 213-222.

Richard Hammersley
University of Hull

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: How to measure mood in nutrition research, Nutrition Research Reviews, December 2014, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s0954422414000201.
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