ABSTRACT
This chapter lays out the basics of mood management theory and describes related empirical research. It also aims to pinpoint some gaps and inconsistencies in the existing evidence to inspire future empirical work. For instance, many studies that have been linked to the mood management framework did not precisely look at moods or content choices as postulated by the theory, or they tested hypotheses that were not included in the original theoretical claim. On the other hand, some of the original suggestions have only rarely been investigated in rigorous terms. Furthermore, some recent advancement from studies on mood-based media choices and related motivations are discussed, especially inasmuch as they help to address challenges from empirical findings to the original theory.
