ABSTRACT
The experience of moods is a common and pervasive one for most people, and the range of moods that we experience may include happiness, sadness, irritation, and anxiety to name only a few. Frequently, the events that trigger our moods are beyond our immediate control. Good news and bad, for example, can often propel us instantaneously into temporary feelings of elation and depression as well. By and large, few people would mind being subjected to these types of affective states, perhaps because, as one observer put it, our changing moods "give our experienced world its liveliness and color" (Wessman & Ricks, 1966, p. vii). There may be times, however, when our moods may be unwanted. When this is the case, we may feel compelled to initiate attempts toward controlling or regulating them.
