Moods function as strategic information rather than mere cognition coloring

Evidence

We suggest that people rely on their feelings to provide them with important strategic information. More than coloring cognitions with values, changes in mood constitute a critical part of information-processing mechanisms (Cacioppo et al., 1986). — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1670

Categorization

• DEFINE: Introduces the affect-as-information view, where mood is itself an information-processing component, not a bias layer.