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Mood Filters: Determine How You View Situations
Objective
Do you have a predisposition to filter in or to filter out certain feelings? One way to begin to think about this issue is to answer the questions that follow. They are designed to get you to reflect on your propensity, if any, to focus on certain types of feelings.
Instructions
For each question in each set, simply answer Yes or No. Set 1
I often have a lot on my mind. I tend to be tense or anxious. Mostly, I feel calm and at ease. I worry about many things. I often feel nervous. I don’t worry about things. Set 2
Sometimes, I feel sad or depressed. I am often discouraged. It’s rare for me to feel down or depressed. There are times when I feel very down. I am somewhat moody. I am usually in a positive, happy mood. Set 3
Certain people really annoy me. I am impatient. I get easily frustrated. I am very accepting of people. I often feel angry or frustrated. It takes a lot to make me angry. Set 4
I am easy to get along with. I get along with people. I am very competitive. I am not a team player.
I’m not a pushy person. I often share the credit with others. Set 5
I believe I will be successful. I usually look at things in a positive way. My expectations for myself are low. Things usually work out for the better. Life has too many obstacles to overcome. I look on the bright side. Set 6
I generally trust people. I give people the benefit of the doubt. People are basically trustworthy. It’s not a good idea to trust people. Most people are basically honest. People will take advantage of you if you’re not careful. Set 7
I cope well with stress. I feel like I’m falling apart when under a lot of stress. Life overwhelms me at times. There are times when I feel overburdened. I handle stress very well. At times I feel totally overwhelmed. Scoring: You will get either a 0 or a 1 for each question. To determine your score, refer to the key that follows. For example, if you answered Yes to a question with a key of N, your score for that question would be a 0. Once you compute your score for each item, add up the numbers for each set to get a total Set Score.
Your Response | Key | Your Score |
|---|---|---|
Yes | Y | 1 |
Yes | N | 0 |
No | N | 0 |
No | Y | 1 |
Key
Set 1
Y I often have a lot on my mind. Y I tend to be tense or anxious. N Mostly, I feel calm and at ease. Y I worry about many things. Y I often feel nervous. N I don’t worry about things. Set 1 Score: Set 2
Y Sometimes, I feel sad or depressed. Y I am often discouraged. N It’s rare for me to feel down or depressed. Y There are times when I feel very down. Y I am somewhat moody. N I am usually in a positive, happy mood. Set 2 Score: Set 3
Y Certain people really annoy me. Y I am impatient. Y I get easily frustrated. N I am very accepting of people. Y I often feel angry or frustrated. N It takes a lot to make me angry. Set 3 Score: Set 4
Y I am easy to get along with. Y I get along with people. N I am very competitive. N I am not a team player. Y I’m not a pushy person. Y I often share the credit with others. Set 4 Score:
Set 5
Y I believe I will be successful. Y I usually look at things in a positive way. N My expectations for myself are low. Y Things usually work out for the better. N Life has too many obstacles to overcome. Y I look on the bright side. Set 5 Score: Set 6
Y I generally trust people. Y I give people the benefit of the doubt. Y People are basically trustworthy. N It’s not a good idea to trust people. Y Most people are basically honest. N People will take advantage of you if you’re not careful. Set 6 Score: Set 7
N I cope well with stress. Y I feel like I’m falling apart when under a lot of stress. Y Life overwhelms me at times. Y There are times when I feel overburdened. N I handle stress very well. Y At times I feel totally overwhelmed. Set 7 Score:
Set | Your Score |
|---|---|
1 | |
2 | |
3 | |
4 | |
5 | |
6 | |
7 |
What Does It Mean?
Each set of questions looks at a specific dispositional trait. Traits are personal characteristics we all have. They provide us with a baseline understanding of how we experience and view our lives. Take a look at each of your Trait scores. As with any quiz of this sort, the questions make you think in a structured way about a certain issue. The table of results offers you hypotheses about your experience of the world, not objective truths.
Trait | What to think about with a score that is lower (0–4) | What to think about with a score that is higher (5–6) |
|---|---|---|
1. Anxiety | May block out worries and threats. | Hypervigilant; focuses on threats. |
2. Depression | Rarely experiences sadness. | Focuses on sadness. Mood may fluctuate independently. |
3. Anger | Accepting of others; avoids seeing unfairness. | Propensity to see injustices and wrongs. |
4. Pleasantness | Competitive; open to fault-finding. | Avoids conflict with others. |
5. Optimism | Open to negative emotions. | Focuses on positive emotions. |
6. Trust | Will be able to consider other people’s faults, negative emotions. | Sees people as good and less capable of negative emotion. |
7. Stress | Open to stressful | Blocks out emotional situations. |
Anxiety
Worry and anxiety are often viewed negatively. However, anxiety can play a positive role in our lives. Anxiety means that we are scanning our environment, fearful that something is going to happen. It forces us to consider our options and plans.
What, then, is the problem with anxiety? The problem is that at some point, too much worry can paralyze you. You can worry about all sorts of possibilities and not have the mental, or even physical, energy to deal with your life. If you are always vigilant, there is a cost—you might feel tired and drained. Or others might see you as nervous, fidgety, or edgy. Too little anxiety may mean that you block out feelings of worry, anticipation, or fear. You may not be vigilant enough and may not adequately guard against danger signals.
Anger
When you are insulted, ignored, or hurt by another person, you may become angry. You might say to yourself, “It’s not right” or “It’s not fair.” Indeed, you may be correct. But perhaps an angry reaction is due as much to the actions of others as it is to your interpretation of the events. A high score may cause you to filter events in a way that you personalize the situation and feel a sense of injustice and anger. A person with a low score may defend against anger and similar-feelings. You may turn away from such experiences and actively try to filter them out.
Depression
Loss often results in sadness. When we lose something that we hold dear or is important to us, we may feel sad or depressed. If you have experienced the death of a loved one, chances are you know what deep sadness is. Job loss can also result in feelings of sadness. However, depression is the feeling of loss without the actual loss. You may feel that things are just not worth the effort. You may, at times, feel dejected and hopeless. Many depressed people are not always sad. Some days, they are up and positive and on other days, down and depressed. When depression is serious and lasts a while, it can cause us to give up hope. It’s very important to recognize signs of depression and to take action if you are depressed. This means that you should consult a mental health professional. A low score on this trait may mean that you block out or filter signs of loss and sadness.
Stress Resistance
We don’t measure how much stress you are currently experiencing. It may be a great deal or nothing much at all. Stress resistance is a measure of your coping skills. Consider two people, one low and one high on Stress Resistance. Then pretend that we have just invented a stress you can measure and put in a box. Take this standard unit of stress—let’s say it’s a flat tire—and apply it to the vulnerable person. This person won’t cope well with the flat tire. He will get upset and feel overwhelmed. A high score may mean that you get easily overwhelmed and may also exaggerate negative emotions. In contrast, the person who is not vulnerable to stress will take it all in stride. If your score is in the low range, it means you are tough and hardy, and can absorb a good deal of stress. A very low score may lead to the minimization of negative emotions.
Optimism
Is that another mountain up ahead? Are we there yet? Our lives will have a number of obstacles. If we view these obstacles as insurmountable, then we’ll turn around and go home. It is an optimistic outlook that keeps us going in the face of failure or when confronting the inevitable obstacles on a difficult, but worthwhile, journey. A low score on Optimism can be reason to investigate whether you filter events through a negative lens. Optimism is not the same thing as positive thinking. Optimism is a belief that you will—you must—succeed, whereas positive thinking is often a technique to block out negative thoughts, even if these thoughts are realistic and reality-based. Optimism, by the way, is thought to be the single most important predictor of success in sales-based careers, and it is also a key component of charismatic leadership. However, wishful thinking may lead you to ignore emotional danger or warning signs.
Pleasantness
What is the opposite of being pleasant? Consider the man who told a story of how he was playing a game of chess with his son. His wife was upset that he was playing his best game rather than letting their son gain an advantage. The man said he felt that the best way for his son to really learn chess is to be challenged, which many people would endorse. This same individual scored very low on Pleasantness, which suggests that he is very competitive and aggressive and has a strong desire to win (at all costs). You should know that his son was turning five years old in a few weeks and was a beginning-level player. That’s competitiveness—the opposite of Pleasantness.
Agreeable, pleasant people tend to be team players. They forgive and forget, and although they enjoy winning, they like to win as part of a team effort. They share the glory and the credit with others. A high score here can lead people to see things in a non-conflictual way. That is, they may avoid disagreements or refuse to believe that a person can do something bad.
Trust
Trust means believing in people. It means that you give others the benefit of the doubt and that you have faith in human nature. This faith is often unshaken, even when others let you down. You keep on believing. If you are too trusting, you may be perceived as being naive and gullible. You could get taken advantage of as well. But trust is important in personal relationships and in many business settings. Although learning to trust is a key developmental stage according to some psychological theories, not all of us resolve this core issue. Some people are very skeptical, and they rarely trust other people, especially at first. Their trust must be earned over a long period of time. A lack of trust makes you cynical and may make it difficult for you to form close, intimate relationships. At the same time, it’s likely that you won’t get fooled or tricked by unscrupulous people. A trusting person may not want to believe the worst and will actively search for alternatives. Instead, they accept a person’s statements at face value. The person sees a friend who is teary-eyed but claims, “No, I’m fine” and accepts that all is well.
Summary
Use your Trait Score analysis to determine whether you have difficulty with certain moods. Do you block certain feelings, filter emotions, or exaggerate emotions? Most of us do, so it’s helpful to determine this for yourself.
