The happy, contented person will quickly delete the inflammatory, rude remarks he finds. The sad, dysphoric person, primed to pay attention to negative stuff, will react much stronger. Research on the effects of mood offer one other factor, which is a good candidate to help account for the phenomena of flame wars. The occurrence of altruistic behavior is mediated by mood. Results from studies with children are the most consistent.
Happy kids are helpful ones.
Sad kids do not engage in pro-social behavior as much. These findings are not so clear as they relate to sad adults. Research supports all cases. Some find more pro-social behavior from sad adults, some find less. This cognitive as well as affective bias results in self focused sad people passing on the opportunities to help others.