It might not come as much of a surp

It might not come as much of a surprise to learn that your emotions influence the decisions you make. After all, you might already know that you are more likely to take risks or try new things when you are happy, but less likely to go out on a limb when you're feeling glum. If you've ever gone with your "gut feeling" when faced with a difficult decision, you are probably relying on what is known as the affect heuristic.

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What Is the Affect Heuristic?

In psychology, a heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows people to make decisions quickly and efficiently. In this case it the way you feel (your affect) toward a particular stimulus that influence the decisions you make. Your feelings of the relative "goodness" or badness" of a particular person, object, or activity impacts the decisions that you ultimately make.

So how much your emotions might influence your decision-making and what impact might it have on your life?

See Also: What is the Representativeness Heuristic in Psychology?

Researchers have found that when you are in a positive emotional state, you are more likely to perceive an activity as having high benefits and low risks.
If your emotional state is negative, on the other hand, you are more inclined to see the activity as being low in benefits and high in risk.
Examples of the Affect Heuristic

For example, imagine a situation in which two children arrive at a local park to play. One child has spent a lot of time playing on swings at a neighbor's house, so he has nothing but positive feelings when he sees the swing set at the park.

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He immediately makes the decision that the swings will be fun (high benefit, low risk) and runs to play on the swings.

The other child, however, recently had a negative experience while playing on the swings at a friend's house. When he sees the swings at the park, he draws on this recent negative memory and decides that the swings are a bad choice (low benefit, high risk).

Much like other heuristics, the affect heuristic has its advantages and disadvantages. While such mental shortcuts allow people to make quick and often reasonably accurate decisions, they can also lead to poor decision-making.

Consider how advertising can sometimes make unhealthy activities such as smoking or eating unhealthy foods seem both positive and appealing. These ads can sometimes influence the emotions of consumers, which can lead to poor health decisions and risky behaviors that can have serious, long-term consequences.

Observations

A 1978 study by Fischoff et al. played a significant role in the study of the affect heuristic. The researchers discovered that judgments of benefits and risks were negatively correlated – the greater the perceived benefit, the lower the perceived risk. At the same time, the more risky behaviors seem, the less the perceived benefits were. Certain behaviors such as drinking alcohol and smoking were viewed as high-risk, low-benefit while other things such as antibiotics and vaccines were seen as high-benefit, low-risk.

Researchers have also discovered that emotions can influence the judgments people make about statistical information. In one study, clinicians were presented with recidivism rates that were either presented as probabilities (such as 30%) or frequencies (such as 30 out of 100).

The clinicians rated mental health patients as presenting a higher risk when the numbers were presented as frequencies rather than probabilities. Why? Researchers suggest that presenting the data as frequencies lead to more extreme judgments on the part of clinicians because it creates a mental image of the individual lapsing back into their old behaviors.

Clearly, the affect heuristic can have a powerful influence on decisions both large and small. Perhaps by being aware of your tendency to be swayed by your feelings and emotions, you will be better able to make more objective and clear-minded decisions in the future.

References

Reisberg, D. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Slovic, P. Finucane, M., Peters, E., & MacGregor, D. G. (2002). The affect heuristic. In Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment. T. Gilovich, D. Griffin, & D. Kahneman (Eds.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
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Itu mungkin tidak datang sebagai besar mengejutkan untuk dipelajari bahwa emosi Anda mempengaruhi keputusan yang Anda buat. Setelah semua, Anda mungkin sudah tahu bahwa Anda lebih mungkin untuk mengambil risiko atau mencoba hal baru ketika Anda bahagia, tetapi cenderung untuk pergi keluar pada tungkai ketika Anda merasa murung. Jika Anda telah pernah pergi dengan Anda "firasat" ketika dihadapkan dengan keputusan yang sulit, Anda mungkin mengandalkan apa yang dikenal sebagai heuristic mempengaruhi.Lanjutkan membaca di bawah iniApa itu mempengaruhi Heuristic?Dalam psikologi, heuristic adalah jalan pintas mental yang memungkinkan orang untuk membuat keputusan yang cepat dan efisien. Dalam hal ini cara Anda merasa (mempengaruhi Anda) terhadap rangsangan tertentu yang mempengaruhi keputusan Anda membuat. Perasaan relatif "kebaikan" atau kejahatan"orang tertentu, obyek, atau aktivitas dampak keputusan yang Anda buat pada akhirnya.Jadi berapa banyak emosi Anda mungkin mempengaruhi pengambilan keputusan Anda dan apa dampak mungkin itu memiliki hidup Anda?Lihat juga: Apakah keterwakilan Heuristic dalam psikologi?Para peneliti telah menemukan bahwa ketika Anda berada dalam keadaan emosi yang positif, Anda akan lebih cenderung memandang aktivitas sebagai memiliki manfaat yang tinggi dan rendah risiko.Jika Anda keadaan emosi negatif, di sisi lain, Anda lebih cenderung untuk melihat aktivitas sebagai rendah manfaat dan risiko tinggi.Contoh Heuristic mempengaruhiSebagai contoh, bayangkan situasi di mana dua anak tiba di sebuah taman lokal untuk bermain. Satu anak telah menghabiskan banyak waktu bermain di ayunan di rumah tetangga, jadi dia tidak ada, tetapi perasaan positif ketika ia melihat ayunan terletak di taman.Lanjutkan membaca di bawah iniIa segera membuat keputusan bahwa ayunan akan menyenangkan (tinggi manfaat, risiko rendah) dan berjalan untuk bermain di ayunan.Anak lainnya, namun, baru-baru ini punya pengalaman negatif sambil bermain di ayunan di rumah teman. Ketika ia melihat ayunan di Taman, ia menarik pada memori negatif yang baru-baru ini dan memutuskan bahwa ayunan adalah pilihan yang buruk (rendah manfaat, risiko tinggi).Banyak seperti heuristik lainnya, mempengaruhi heuristic memiliki kelebihan dan kekurangan. Meskipun pintas mental tersebut memungkinkan orang untuk membuat keputusan yang cepat dan sering cukup akurat, mereka juga dapat menyebabkan pengambilan keputusan yang buruk.Pertimbangkan bagaimana iklan dapat kadang-kadang membuat kegiatan-kegiatan yang tidak sehat seperti merokok atau makan makanan tidak sehat tampak positif dan menarik. Iklan tersebut kadang-kadang dapat mempengaruhi emosi konsumen, yang dapat menyebabkan miskin kesehatan keputusan dan perilaku berisiko yang dapat memiliki konsekuensi serius, jangka panjang.PengamatanA 1978 study by Fischoff et al. played a significant role in the study of the affect heuristic. The researchers discovered that judgments of benefits and risks were negatively correlated – the greater the perceived benefit, the lower the perceived risk. At the same time, the more risky behaviors seem, the less the perceived benefits were. Certain behaviors such as drinking alcohol and smoking were viewed as high-risk, low-benefit while other things such as antibiotics and vaccines were seen as high-benefit, low-risk.Researchers have also discovered that emotions can influence the judgments people make about statistical information. In one study, clinicians were presented with recidivism rates that were either presented as probabilities (such as 30%) or frequencies (such as 30 out of 100).The clinicians rated mental health patients as presenting a higher risk when the numbers were presented as frequencies rather than probabilities. Why? Researchers suggest that presenting the data as frequencies lead to more extreme judgments on the part of clinicians because it creates a mental image of the individual lapsing back into their old behaviors.Clearly, the affect heuristic can have a powerful influence on decisions both large and small. Perhaps by being aware of your tendency to be swayed by your feelings and emotions, you will be better able to make more objective and clear-minded decisions in the future.ReferencesReisberg, D. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of Cognitive Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Slovic, P. Finucane, M., Peters, E., & MacGregor, D. G. (2002). The affect heuristic. In Heuristics and Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment. T. Gilovich, D. Griffin, & D. Kahneman (Eds.). New York: Cambridge University Press.How Heuristics Help You Make Quick Decisions182188683.jpg - Baris Simsek / Getty ImagesReadAdsPositive PsychologyChild Clinical PsychologyPsychology StudiesPsychology Children AndPsychological Psychology4 Common Decision-Making Mistakes488337149.jpg - Portra Images / Getty ImagesReadWhat Is the Representativeness Heuristic?ReadAvailability HeuristicReadContinue Reading BelowDecision-Making StrategiesReadProblem-SolvingReadThe Psychology of Decision-Makingdecisions.jpg - Image: John Rensten / Getty ImagesReadProblems in Decision-MakingReadWhy Anxiety Can Lead to Poor DecisionsReadWhat Is an Availability Heuristic?525848875.jpg - Brand New Images / Getty ImagesReadWhat is the Representativeness Heuristic in Psychology?Representativeness Heuristic - Drawn Ideas / Ikon Images / Getty ImagesReadAbout.com Education Psychology Cognitive Psychology What Is the Affect Heuristic?