5 - The Influence of Feelings on Judgments and Decision Making

Summary

The advantage of the emotions is that they lead us astray.

Oscar Wilde, Picture of Dorian Gray

We all know, as did Oscar Wilde, the 19-century English playwright and wit, that our feelings can influence our judgments and the decisions we reach. If we're happy at the moment, aren't we likely to think that “God's in His heaven / All's right with the world” and that many of those around us are good and trustworthy people? Our everyday experiences also tell us that negative feelings often have just the opposite effect. For one thing, we're frequently too apt to be harsh in our evaluations of others when we're in a bad mood. But how often does this mood congruency occur? When do our feelings affect our assessments of others, and in what ways does this influence come about? Can we rise above our feelings and reach accurate and impartial judgments despite our emotions, and if so, under what conditions? Then too, how might our affective state influence our decision making? Do negative feelings have only negative effects? Isn't it possible that we become complacent and even mentally lazy when we're in a good mood, so that we actually think more carefully about what is happening when we're somewhat unhappy? The present chapter will review some of the best social psychological studies bearing on these questions. It will start with an examination of mood effects on judgments, and then will consider how feelings can affect decision making and information processing.