How Can Judgments Influence Us?

Individual decisions are best understood via the interconnections of reason and emotion. Slow reasonable thought informs our judgments while we are calm. For example, you may opt to remain calm before an uncomfortable encounter. When you are aroused to fury, you strike out without thinking about the implications.

Our emotional reactions to everyday decisions may be valuable in directing our attention to what is most important. However, intense emotions might drive us to make poor judgments.

A limited perspective- Strong emotions (such as wrath, fear, or hunger) cause a type of "tunnel vision." For example, rage concentrates attention such that current sensations, ideas, and impulses take precedence over future objectives, desires, or plans.

Making assumptions- A selective information search, restricted assessment of options, and speedy data evaluation lead to the conclusion (e.g., the case of conspiracy theory).

Memory is mood-congruent- Our current emotional state aids in the remembering of previous events with a similar emotional tone. When we are pleased, we tend to remember pleasurable occurrences and vice versa. This is because various moods evoke distinct connections in the mind. Sad music, for many, is a potent trigger for nostalgic thoughts of bygone eras.

Contagion of emotions- When we perceive others' emotional expressions, we tend to "catch" their feelings (whether sad or cheerful). And this process helps us comprehend the emotions of others. For example, when you have a casual discussion with someone worried, you are likely to feel uncomfortable yourself.

Moods in the background emotions aroused by a completely unrelated incident can impact our thoughts and judgments. On sunny days, for example, we tend to tip more at restaurants and exhibit higher levels of overall contentment.

A desire to assign blame- When we are hurt and furious, we want someone to blame (or hold accountable) for our suffering. We feel superior when we blame others. It feeds our ego to assume that each terrible incident is the fault of someone else.

Perception of time- Our emotions might cause time estimations to be inaccurate. When we are impatiently waiting for something to happen, time moves more slowly.

Bias in the projection of emotions is fundamentally transitory. What rises frequently falls. However, people frequently underestimate the brief duration of emotional responses. People who are grieved, for example, are unable to predict the degradation of their feelings. One reason for teenagers' elevated risk of suicide is that they lack the life experience to understand that sorrow is just fleeting.