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 assessmentdeclaration. “Weather and MoodFor a long period of time, people have used their experience to cometo the conclusion that meteorological factors are connected with differenthuman behaviors and emotions like mood (Park et al, 2013). For instance,there are those who believe that rainy days affect them emotionally whilethere are those who are cheered up by warm weather. However, beyondpersonal experiences, studies have established a link between weather andmood, though this has been done on a relatively small scale.
With theincreased availability of large scale data about the thoughts and emotionsof people, it has become possible to have an accurate assessment of theeffect that weather has on people’s mood. Due to the focus on theimportance of mental health today, research on the relationship betweenmood 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, whichchanges in responses to the circumstances one faces in life at a particularpoint in time. According to Russell (2003), moods are alwaysundifferentiated.
In addition, they are slower to change. They are alsoobjectless in the sense that people might not understand the cause of themood. For instance, one could feel down or sad and this could go for daysor moths when it comes to depression and he or she might not understand thecause. The perfect way to contemplate about mood measures is to understandthe areas they are capturing. There are questionnaires which targetparticular areas like depression and vitality.
There are also those thattarget the wider aspects of positive and negative effect. It is a commonand prevalent notion that individuals are more depressed during badweather. Despite this, Huifers et al (2010) noted that there are limitedstudies to establish whether meteorological factors like sunshine can inessence account for differences and changes in moods. The weak but important connection that exists between weather andmood is among the most debated topics. Though the statement appearsintuitively clear, experimental confirmation of this connection has notbeen easy. Studies h on the different impacts of weather on mood arerelatively low in terms of numbers.
According to Scott (2007), thesestudies are not easy to interpret. They are also affected by differentvariables and mixed results. The majority focus on the connection betweenweather and mood. A study seeking to establish the relationship betweenweather and mood was conducted by Persinger (1975).
The results showed thatlower moods are linked to fewer sunshine hours. These moods are alsoconnected to higher relative humidity. The main point was that mood reportscould 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 inregard to reduction in body temperature. Despite this, it is not clearwhether these effects are as a result of distraction or they are caused byincreased anxiety. Other studies seek to link perception of weather to theareas where people live and their individual attributes. In the same vein,Scott (2007) noted that those who are relocated are vulnerable tofluctuations in mood caused by novel weather conditions. In yet another study, it was established that individual differencescould 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 insensitivity to weather in the past. However, other studies propose aconnection 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 weatherimpacts differently people individuals with different personality traits. The test focused on extraversion, agreeableness, and openness.
There wasalso focus on conscientiousness and neuroticism. They analyzed the impactsof different weather parameters including temperature, air pressure, andrainfall and wind power on mood. The major impacts of sunshine,temperature, and wind on negative affect were revealed. In this regard, itbecame clear that the sunshine has a major impact on tiredness.
As far asDenissen et al (2008) are concerned, the average impact of weather on moodis not that big. However, there is a significant random variation amongdifferent people, particularly the impact of photoperiod. Moreover, thereis no evidence suggesting that the personal variations in weathersensitivity might be justified by the Five Factor Model individual traits. In general, a number of findings are opposed to the connectionbetween weather and mood despite establishing some major coefficients. Onthe same note, calls made to telephone counseling services were analyzed(Driscoll ; Stillman, 2002).
The services served different communities in amajor US metropolitan area. Investigations were done on connections withderived weather types for all areas and with individual weather elementsincluding temperature change, rainfall and wind power. They came to therealization that the statistically significant results notwithstanding, thetotal number fell within that anticipated by chance. In addition, it wasestablished that there was little when it came to consistency with theseconnections. A major exception is an escalation in call frequency in thecourse of severe weather (Driscoll ; Stillman, 2002).
In another study that was carried out by Huifers et al (2010), itbecame apparent that the prevalence of major depression and sadnessdemonstrated seasonal variation. There were peaks during the summer. Thesame also witnessed during fall. There was no connection between weatherconditions and mood. In addition, weather conditions never explained theestablished seasonal variation.
They came to the conclusion that as opposedto the popular belief, there appears to be no connection between weatherconditions, depression or even sadness. On the other hand, the impact oftemperature on wind power on mood and condition was investigated (Keller etal, 2005). The results noted that there was not the consistent major impactof weather on mood. This is despite the fact that pleasant weather wasconnected with higher mood and improved memory. In the same vein, it becameclear that during hot summer days, spending more time outside was linked todeteriorated mood.
These outcomes are in tandem with results on seasonalaffective disorders. They submit that pleasant weather enhances mood andbolsters cognition during spring. This is attributed to the fact thatpeople have been denied such weather in the course of winter (Keller et al,2005). The contradictions in the outcomes of the above-mentioned studiesdemonstrate that the issue requires further consideration.
Moods have animpact on working ability, attention and tone. In other words, moods canaffect different areas of economic life including healthcare. Therelationship that exists between psychology and weather has a future notjust in theoretical aspect but from a practical context as well. In conclusion, it is clear that there is a relationship betweenweather and mood.
The results obtained from the above studies demonstratedthat the various elements of weather result in mood changes. This shows apositive or negative character of the person. The rapid weather changes onthe basis of expectations have adverse effects on human moods. It must beemphasized that there is a complex relationship between weather and moodgiven that it relies on individual attributes of people. Those who arestable emotionally are believed to be more resistant to the impact ofweather on their moods.
On the contrary, those are emotionally unstablelargely depend on the effects of weather. There is a need for furtherresearch to validate these views. Such research could employ daily measuresof welfare as outcomes. ReferencesDenissen, J. , Butalid, L. , ; Penke, L.
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