What is the role of emotions in decision making? Our life experience is divided by things that make us feel (emotional reactions), and things that make us think (logical reactions). But does this mean that we think less when we feel more? In fact, it does, because if a part of the brain is engaged in feeling, it has less capacity of thought. The statement “I think, therefore I am” by René Descartes implies that thinking is an important element of existence, but what is the role of feeling in determining how we exist?

¹When we identify an emotion, it becomes a thought, because we start noticing how we feel and thinking about what makes us feel this way. Moreover, emotions can generate endless number of thoughts per minute, while we have the ability to express only a few number of thoughts per minute. It sounds complicated, however it proves that emotions contribute in a meaningful way to our existence, because they make us experience the real world and learn.

²Emotions play a significant role in decision making and behaviour. Humans are born with a genetically encoded set of basic emotions which allows to assess certain events and situations in predictable ways. Moreover, certain emotions can be seen on the facial expression, which can be recognisable by others regardless of age, gender, race, culture, or ethnicity. These universal processes can contribute to the perception of certain situations, having a remarkable impact on the decision that we make.

The role of emotions in decision making

Emotions play a complex but important role in decision making. Understanding them can lead to better outcomes.

Cognitive processes

Feelings can influence the way we perceive information. For example, the feeling of anxiety can make a certain situation seem threatening, while the feeling of enjoyment can make a situation seem favourable.
Positive emotions can enhance problem solving, creative thinking, motivation, and engagement. In decision making, the feeling of excitement can increase risk-taking.
The effect of negative emotions varies from person to person, it can either hinder or enhance problem solving. It also depends on the type of negative emotion. For example, stress can enhance learning for some people, while for others stress can impair learning. In decision making, the feeling of fear will convince almost everyone to avoid risk.

Social judgments

Emotions help interpret and understand social cues, leading to more empathy and consideration of others.
Emotions related to perceived justice or injustice can influence decisions towards the right actions.
The understanding of other’s emotions can improve negotiation abilities and interpersonal decision making.

Motivational factors

The feeling of hope and optimism can motivate individuals to set goals and work consistently to achieve them. While anger and frustration can make some people give up, while motivating others to work harder.
Joy and satisfaction can motivate people to engage in activities that they believe can lead to a pleasurable experience. While boredom and lack of any emotional response can decrease motivation to engage in seemingly uninteresting and unrewarding activities.
The feeling of love and attachment can lead to decisions that strengthen bonds and favour the feelings of loved ones. While guilt and shame prioritise decisions that avoid negative judgements and align with social norms.
Feeling calm and content can enhance focus and lead to effective decision making. While stress and overwhelm can impair cognitive function and lead to avoidance of decision making or poor decision making.
Impulsive decisions driven by excitement or instant gratification can lead to unfavourable outcomes due to favouring immediate pleasure over long-term benefits. While regret anticipation can motivate the consideration of long-term outcomes, leading to better decisions.

Biased decisions

People sometimes make decisions by predicting their future emotional states. However, it’s easy to mispredict how you will feel in the future, because it is just an assumption of how the future would look like, and often leads to poor decisions.
Knowing negative stories about other individuals, or having past negative interactions with them, can negatively influence the decision of future interaction or teamwork, even though it might lead to positive outcomes.