Thesis for the Bachelor in Psychology Consumer & Behavior Can Positive Mood Replenish Resource Depletion Resulting in Less Compliance through a Heuristic?

This study examines the effect of replenishment of self-regulatory resources after a depleting task, on compliance through a heuristic. The following three hypotheses were tested. Can positive mood replenish previously depleted self-regulatory resources? Do people comply more with a request when they are exposed to a compliance-promoting heuristic? Can replenishment through positive mood counteract the effect of regulatory resource depletion through less reliance on a heuristic? Results showed that none of the predicted effects occurred, but some other significant, partly reversed outcomes have been found. A short rest break did replenish depleted self-regulatory resources more than positive mood, and positive mood in itself had an effect on compliance. Together these results did not support the hypotheses, possibly due to the fact that mood induction and the heuristic activation did not work the way predicted and mood itself had an effect on the compliance measurement. Can positive mood replenish depleted self-regulatory resources resulting in less compliance through a heuristic? 1