History
The idea of selecting media content in the interest of enhancing one’s states has been proposed by Zillmann and Bryant (1985) and Zillmann (1988a). Initially, the assumptions were referred to as theory of affect-dependent stimulus arrangement, but subsequently gained more prominence under the label of mood management (Knobloch, 2006).
Mood management research can be traced back to Leon Festinger’s (1957) cognitive dissonance theory. Festinger notes that human organism tries to establish internal congruity among cognitions such as attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge about oneself and the environment. When a person holds two cognitions that are incompatible, dissonance is produced. But such dissonance can be reduced through selective exposure, that is, individuals will seek out information that will reduce the dissonance and avoid information that will increase the already existing dissonance.
Festinger’s theory was primarily laid out in cognitive terms, addressing exposure choices to persuasive messages. Zillmann and his colleagues thus proposed the mood management theory that attempts to cope with the broadest possible range of message choices such as news, documents, comedies, dramas, tragedies, music performances, and sports. It deals with all conceivable moods rather than a single, specific affective state, such as dissonance (Zillman, 1988b).
Read more about this topic: Mood Management Theory
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