The Impact of Weather Conditions on Mood Variability in Geographically Relocated Versus Non-Relocated Individuals

Weather has long been regarded to influence the mundane mood of the population. A pervasive belief exists that individual\u27s moods are heightened by warm and sunny days, whereas moods are lowered by cold and cloudy days. Previous research has provided mixed and limited results. However, a void exists in the literature in regards to how identical weather conditions impact individuals from different geographic locations. It is believed that nonindigenous individuals are more susceptible to fluctuations in mood stemming from novel weather conditions than would be indigenous individuals. Sample recruitment consisted of students attending Minnesota State University. The sample consisted of 70 life-long Minnesota residents and 25 individuals who have spent at minimum one year living outside of Minnesota. Participants completed a mood self-report measure, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, online for four consecutive weeks to determine affect levels. This data was then matched with corresponding weather data for the same time period in order to ascertain mood variability differences in response to distinct weather patterns. Between-subjects ANOVAS were utilized to determine variance in mood variability between geographic groups as measured by positive and negative affect. Variance between geographic group\u27s affective responses to independent weather measures was additionally examined