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Abstract

Self-report personality measures are commonly used across all of psychology, both in research and clinical settings. Given their ubiquity in psychological research and practice, it is important to characterize potential threats to the validity of self-report personality measures, so that this information can be considered during research design. One potential threat to the validity of self-report personality measures which has yet to be investigated is the influence of current mood state on self-reported personality ratings. The current research used an experimental, within-person design in two undergraduate samples to investigate: 1) whether current mood state in fact influences self-reported Big Five personality ratings or structure; 2) to identify whether these changes are primarily driven by a positive mood state, a negative mood state, or both; and 3) to explore potential moderators of this effect, including clinical disorder symptoms and the social desirability of the individual personality items. Study 1 (N=185) demonstrated an effect of current mood state on self-reported personality ratings, where individuals in a positive mood state rated themselves as more extraverted, more agreeable, more conscientious, and less neurotic than when they were in a negative mood state (ps