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Psychology vocabulary · Emotion and Motivation

Mood

Meaning in psychology, with examples

/muːd/nounCore term

In psychology, mood means: A general emotional state that lasts longer, is less intense and is less clearly linked to a cause than a single emotion, such as feeling low or irritable for days.

In Turkish: duygudurum, ruh hali

How it is used

Common in clinical interviews and notes: low mood, elevated mood, mood swings, mood disorders. In a mental state examination, mood is what the person reports and affect is what the clinician observes.

Example sentences

  1. She described her mood as low on most days for the past two months.

  2. In the diary study, days with exercise were linked to better mood.

Common collocations

  • low mood
  • mood swings
  • mood disorder
  • elevated mood
  • mood diary
  • emotionA short-lived reaction such as fear, joy, anger or sadness that involves a feeling, changes in the body and an urge to act in a certain way.
  • depressionA mental health condition marked by persistent low mood or loss of interest and pleasure, often with changes in sleep, appetite, energy and concentration.
  • bipolar disorderA mood disorder in which a person has episodes of mania or hypomania, with very high energy and mood, usually alternating with episodes of depression.
  • emotion regulationThe processes people use to influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how strongly they experience and express them.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Emotion and Motivation

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.