https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022118770797 Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 1–18 © The Author(s) 2018 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0022022118770797 journals.sagepub.com/home/jcc Original Article Mood and the Perception of Sexual Interest in Different Cultural Contexts: A Comparison Between a Malaysian and a Swiss Sample Pei Hwa Goh 1,2 , Peter Lucas Stoeckli 3 , and Dominik Schoebi 2 Abstract The current study examined, on the basis of past findings and theories on mood and cognition, whether people’s perception of sexual interest from others would decrease when they are in a negative mood and increase when they are in a positive mood. Using repeated-measures experiments, university students in Switzerland (n = 117) and Malaysia (n = 117) underwent mood inducement procedures followed by participation in video-guided imagined interactions, where they judged the sexual interest of their interaction partners. Results revealed a dampening effect of negative mood on sexual perceptions in the Swiss sample. No significant mood differences in sexual perception were found in the Malaysian sample. Our results suggest that this sample difference may be associated with differences in endorsement of cultural values. The more people valued social harmony and stability, the less likely they were to succumb to mood effects on sexual perception. Keywords mood, sexual interest, perception, culture, values Imagine that you are waiting for your bus when an attractive stranger approaches you to ask you a question about the bus schedule. This eventually develops into a conversation during which the stranger appears to be very engaged, with frequent eye contact and smiles. Is this person showing sexual interest, or is this person just being friendly? Does your answer to this depend on who you are, or how you are feeling in that moment? Research has shown that whether this stranger is perceived as being friendly or sexually inter- ested depends on several factors: for instance, heterosexual men are more likely than women to perceive high sexual interest from other-sex targets (Abbey, 1982; Farris, Treat, Viken, & McFall, 2008; Koukounas & Letch, 2001; Perilloux, 2014), and people who are more oriented toward short-term mating strategies tend to perceive higher sexual interest from others (Howell, Etchells, 1 Monash University–Malaysia Campus, Bandar Sunway, Selangor, Malaysia 2 University of Fribourg, Switzerland 3 Military Academy at ETH Zurich, Switzerland Corresponding Author: Pei Hwa Goh, Monash University–Malaysia Campus, Jalan Lagoon Selatan, Bandar Sunway, Selangor 47500, Malaysia. Email: goh.peihwa@monash.edu 770797JCC XX X 10.1177/0022022118770797Journal of Cross-Cultural PsychologyGoh et al. research-article 2018