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Effects of Weather and Air Pollution on Mood: An Individual Difference Approach

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Environmental Social Psychology

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASID,volume 45))

Abstract

Within a time sampling study of the effects on unemployment of subjective well-being (Kirchler, 1985) 14 men and 12 women recorded their mood several times a day over a period of 40 days according to the time sampling diary of Brandstätter (1977). For the present study each subject’s sensitivity to air pollution and weather changes has been assessed by calculating the multiple regression (auto-regressive model) of his/her time series of mood scores on the time series of air pollution and weather indicators (SO2, dust, temperature, steam pressure, visibility, cloudiness, wind speed, precipitation, barometric pressure). The standard partial regression coefficients were conceived of as indicators of a subject’s sensitivity to weather changes and used as dependent variables in ANOVAs with emotional stability (low-high) and extroversion (low-high) as factors. The sensitivity to air pollution, temperature, steam pressure, wind speed, precipitation and barometric pressure turned out to be partly interaction effects, partly main effects of emotional stability and extroversion. Only interdisciplinary cooperation in studying the physiological and psychological processess causing the influence of weather on mood can lead to appropriate theoretical explanations of the observed effects.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Linz, Austria

    Hermann Brandstätter, Martin Frühwirth & Erich Kirchler

Authors
  1. Hermann Brandstätter
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  2. Martin Frühwirth
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  3. Erich Kirchler
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, UK

    David Canter

  2. Instituto Superior de Ciencias, Trabalho e da Emprese, Lisbon, Portugal

    Jorge Correia Jesuino

  3. Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil, Lisbon, Portugal

    Luís Soczka

  4. Institute of Social and Applied Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK

    Geoffrey M. Stephenson

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© 1988 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Brandstätter, H., Frühwirth, M., Kirchler, E. (1988). Effects of Weather and Air Pollution on Mood: An Individual Difference Approach. In: Canter, D., Jesuino, J.C., Soczka, L., Stephenson, G.M. (eds) Environmental Social Psychology. NATO ASI Series, vol 45. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2802-2_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-2802-2_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7760-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-2802-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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