Not in the Mood? Affective State and Transactive Communication

Abstract

This study expanded transactive memory theory by incorporating affective influences on processes that have been primarily examined through a cognitive lens. Drawing on J. P. Forgas' (1995) affect infusion model, the research developed a multilevel model of the role of individual- and group-level state positive affect for individual transactive communication, operationalized as information seeking and sharing. A test of the model using 25 student groups showed that (a) both individual- and group-level positive affect were positively related to individual volume of transactive communication; (b) affective homogeneity among members of a group had a significant relationship to information sharing, but not information seeking; and (c) the interaction between affective homogeneity and group positive affect did not impact either transactive communication process.