Annotated Bibliography
Section A
Dissertation title:
The advantages/ positive influence of emotions on decision making
Research questions:
What is the positive connection between emotions and informed decision making?
What are the positive impacts of emotions on decision making?
Research method:
Qualitative analysis of previous findings and current con
Section B
Source 1:
Achar, C., So, J., Agrawal, N. and Duhachek, A., 2016. What we feel and why we buy: the influence of emotions on consumer decision-making. Current Opinion in Psychology, 10, pp.166-170.
One of the easiest way of connection emotions to decision making is through marketing. Marketers have made it a habit to invoke consumer emotions (Achar, So, Agrawal, and Duhachek, 2016 p 166). This article unveils emotions marketers incorporate in marketing projects to appeal to consumers and skyrocket their sales. For instance consumers can be influenced by emotions connected and unrelated to decision making. This is because emotions, are connected to a group of cognitive evaluations which influences decision making. In addition, the article presents an integrated perspective on existing body of literature on the manner in which emotions shape consumer decision making. Consequently, through the vigorous study of consumer emotions, the researchers not only exposes the role emotions play in decision making but also informs on the positive influence emotions have on decision making. In order to make the article inclusive and relevant, the author exploits how unrelated emotions to decision making end up impacting decision making. In the end, the article presents a broader view on the subject matter and exposes the conditions which emotions serve to influence decision making. One of the main advantages of the article is using relevant day to day related situations to demonstrate how positive emotions influence decision making. A marketer’s only intention is ensuring that the consumer’s emotion is moved to the point of making a purchase. Thus, the marketer ensures that he or she is visible and his brand brings forth all the memorable aspects in order to spark emotion and influence the consumer’s mind into making a purchase. On the other hand, the consumer’s experience with a certain brand or product influences how he or she feels about the product. Thus, emotion is forged through experience and first hand impression a consumer makes with the product.
Source 2:
George, J.M. and Dane, E., 2016. Affect, emotion, and decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 136, pp.47-55.
The article reviews past investigations on distress, emotions, and decision making under the topic of organizational behavior and human decision making mechanisms. Grouping influences of emotions on decision making as an organizational behavior actually gives the reader a context under which to substantiate the narrative of the article. Also, evaluating past body of literature as a basis for confirming information gives the reader a solid reliable background on the topic and issues more inclusive view points on the subject matters hence facilitates in exposing loopholes made in the past. In fact, the review is dependent on four topical issues: the impact on of mood on decision making and how people are able to make discrete decision without haste. In the end, the article gives the reader numerous scholarly perspectives from which to choose from (George, and Dane, 2016 p46). Be exposing the negative side of decision making, the author also applies an integral role emotions have on bad decision making. In addition, the author discusses the short comings of the research and ethical considerations people should make while formulating an informed decision. An operational human mind has to factor in emotion in all the aspects of an informed decision making. Besides, emotions give a hint on the consequences the decision will have an individual and the importance of the decision itself. In simpler terms emotion differentiates important decisions from unimportant decision. It is normal for any human being to make decisions based on intensive emotion. However, emotional may either drive one towards the intended goal for making the decision or drive one further. Subsequently, emotions are part and parcel of the constant cognitive appraisals and reactions mechanisms every human being goes through on a daily basis. Emotions underpin the decision making process due to the strong influence they have on a person.
Source 3:
Bucurean, M., 2018. The Effects of Moods and Emotions on Decision Making Process ΠA Qualitative Study.
This article investigative report dwells on the impact of attitudes and emotions on decision making mechanisms. As a result, the researcher interviews 12 managers working under renowned brands in Bihor County. The research’s findings exposes the impact emotions and moods have on decision making process. One of the main themes of the research was the evaluation of the interviews to unveil extensive nature of human emotions on decision making. The first finding claimed that moods and emotions disrupted managers’ capability to process information, particularly, negative moods and feelings decreases managers’ capability to process information, on the other hand, positive dispositions and emotions result in an amplified capability to process information (Bucurean, 2018,p118). The key aspect pointed out in the article is that negative emotions increase the rate at which managers made timely decisions, while positive emotions tend to slow down the rate which managers processed and finalize decision making as the logic played a role during positive decision making. At the end of the research, the researcher aided the reader to know the positive and negative effect emotions had on decision making because at the end of the day, each played a role which led to a certain end.
Source 4:
Escadas, M., Jalali, M.S. and Farhangmehr, M., 2020. What goes around comes around: The integrated role of emotions on consumer ethical decision‐making. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 19(5), pp.409-422.
The study aimed to extend human comprehension on the integrative role emotions play on consumer decision making by taking into account positive and negative aspects of decision making mechanisms. This research did not just look at the prior emotions which influence decision making but also the resultant consequences of the actions made. In addition, the author developed scenario which helped in analyzing the relationship between emotions and ethical decision making and other behavioral considerations that come into play in such scenarios. The chance to come up with situations give the reader ability to interpret the roles emotions have on consumer behavior and decision making process (Escadas, Jalali, and Farhangmehr, 2020,p413). In the end, one gets a full picture of how people behave and the emotional situations which drive the behavior. Therefore, the researcher considers important factors which can be included in decision making. Even though each individual has his or her own persona, emotions tend to uniformly influence the decisions of people and may even be a good predictor of certain behavior. In terms of limitation, this study fails to inform on relevance of intentional emotions on other factors apart from the interaction between the consumer and the product. However, it gives enough example to substantiate most of its main arguments.
Source 5:
Lent, R.W., Ireland, G.W., Penn, L.T., Morris, T.R. and Sappington, R., 2017. Sources of self-efficacy and outcome expectations for career exploration and decision-making: A test of the social cognitive model of career self-management. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 99, pp.107-117.
The article highlights cognitive models used for occupational examination and decision making and then applies social cognitive models to career management in order for one’s career to prosper, a set of decisions needs to be made so that the career path might take off at some point of one’s life. Normally, the expectations are sources of self-reliance. More so this study includes behavior mastery, oral coaxing, and vicarious learning that affect both positive and negative emotions (Lent et al., 2017, p107). The study sampled 324 university students who were to filling in a career analysis form so that the researchers explore how they managed making decisions that had lifelong impacts on their careers. In the end, most of the vital decisions were made under the influence of positive emotions which drove some towards certain career paths. Conclusively, the researchers concluded that emotions influence behavior and even how one reacts to situations that will affect them for years to come.
Source 6:
Schulte-Mecklenbeck, M., Johnson, J.G., Böckenholt, U., Goldstein, D.G., Russo, J.E., Sullivan, N.J. and Willemsen, M.C., 2017. Process-tracing methods in decision making: On growing up in the 70s. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 26(5), pp.442-450.
This article informs on technics used in tracing decision making procedures. Before one arrives at one final decision, there are numerous factors which have influenced the final outcome. Decision making process shifted from abstract concepts to the appreciation of cognitive mechanisms influencing the entire decision making process. A number of tracing mechanisms have enabled scholars come up with variable explanations explaining underlying reasons for making certain decisions (Schulte et al., 2017 p443). In this particular research, the author offers the reader particular methods used for making a variety of decisions such as making reports and other neural methodologies. In the process of examining decision-tracing mechanisms, the author exposes, considerations, emotions and strategies applied in decision making mechanisms. Consequently, decision-tracing mechanisms can help in unveiling how one decision correlates with another one hence demonstrating a common factor between two varied decisions. For examples, emotions influences reason ad logic hence assist people make day to day decisions without considering the afterthought or consequence of their actions. Thus emotions can make people initiative and attentive to the tasks at hand. Moreover, comprehending human decision conduct often lean towards observable opportunities on the logical underlying emotions that help one arrive at one final answer. For example, gamblers decisions making processes stems from risky emotions and considerations hence rational choices and tenets.
Source 7:
Patil, I., Larsen, E.M., Kichic, R. and Gleichgerrcht, E., 2020. Moral Cognition About Harm in Anxiety Disorders: The Importance of Experienced Emotion. Psychological Reports, p.0033294120964134.
Recent studies show that emotional stimulation impacts decision making in sacrificial moral problematic situations. With heightened amounts of stimulations connected to elevated aversion to pledging transgressions and taking full advantage of utilitarian outcomes, emotions tend to be the main source of action. Triggering certain emotions may force one to engage in criminal activity and even tend to focus efforts on reacting to certain outcomes. According to this journal, evidence reveals that anxious patients might be less rational in their decision making skills because they lack the self-control to go through the consequences of their decisions. The study conducted a moral dilemma where 95 patients with an anxiety background were exposed to utilitarian decision making with the intention of capturing emotions and deliberate actions leading to those emotions (Patil et al., 2020p313). The findings revealed that there was a difference between patients who controlled their impulsive emotions and then ones who fulfilled their utilitarian outcomes without foregoing any sacrificial action. The only advantage of this research was that is conclusions were similar to the past researches which revealed that emotions drove decision making and even impacted the expected outcome of the individual. The chance one has to redo a mistake totally lies in the ability to rationally balance other factors before settling on a final decision. In the process, the paper explains the role impulsive emotions play in decision making process and how an individual can critically look at situations from a more neutral angle rather than make rushed decisions without taking into account the negative consequences of the decisions. Furthermore, the research revealed the specific emotions which drive judgmental utilitarian outcomes after one makes a decision.
Source 8:
Fredrickson, B.L. and Joiner, T., 2018. Reflections on positive emotions and upward spirals. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(2), pp.194-199.
The article reflects on a past 2002 article on a similar issue and the advancements made since then. According to the author the report had significant impact on psychological science confines. The chances of permitting ad interacting with new concepts tends to shape the ability of the reader to rationally think of the intentional factors at play and how to come up with solutions to better understand emotions, this article was a first of its own because it published empirical evidence on the impact positive emotions have on decision making process. Most of the times, emotions are a product of positive psychology. Article then goes on to highlight theoretical progressions made in the connection of mental conditioning and emotional stabilization (Fredrickson, and Joiner, 2018p199). To illustrate further, positive emotions tend to improve predictions hence broadening the decision making scope hence the reasons people make rational decisions while sober. Also, based on past studies, 95% of the brain operations takes place in the emotional sections of the brain. Hence the need to come up with ways of engaging this part of the brain in the decision making process. Once one comes up with ways of engaging positive emotions in the decision making process, then the decisions become more accurate ad long term in terms of the impact and sequential role of the decisions.
Source 9:
You, X., Ju, C., Wang, M., Zhang, B. and Liu, P., 2019. Age differences in the influence of induced negative emotion on decision-making: The role of emotion regulation. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 74(5), pp.796-805.
The journal makes a correlation between age variance and how it affects negative emotions which later influence decision making. The manner in which one regulates emotions influences decision making strategies in the long run the research’s findings indicated that there is a disparity between young and old decision making due to negative emotions. In the process, there is need for the regulation of emotional processes and the incorporation of positive emotions in decision making process (You et al., 2019, p176). Further analysis of the results indicated even though both young and old people might make neutral decisions, negative emotions tend to inhibit the predominant decision making issues involved in sound decision making. In the long run on has to consider the long term effects of the decisions made.
While most people are dependent on emotions to derive the integral part of decision making, other secondary sections of the decision making process are referred along the lines of issuing accurate information to the decision maker so that he further be able to make sound decisions based on the information handed over among other things which might be of importance to the entire decision making process (You et al., 2019, p 801). At the end, article was able to shape the mind of reader into understanding the actual role negative emotion on decision making and how advancement in age tends to break the norms associated with the distinctive perspectives of decision making for both young and old.
Source 10:
Vaughan, R., Laborde, S. and McConville, C., 2019. The effect of athletic expertise and trait emotional intelligence on decision-making. European journal of sport science, 19(2), pp.225-233.
The intentional basis of this article relied on the factual emotions driving human influence which can be later reflected on decision making. Decision making does not stand on its own and a set of cognitive factors influence how people react to each other based on emotional predispositions they experience from time to time (Vaughan et al., 2019,p225). Hence one has to have a certain level of emotional intelligence in order to be able to make sound judgment especially on important issues pertaining critical issues such as performance in sporting arena. When applied in appropriate measures, emotional intelligence has to assess the risks linked to decision making outcomes. More so, the impact positive emotions have on decision making proves that one is a functional human being. The objective of this research was to investigate how athletes employ certain traits to increase performance and at the same time regulate decision making skills. In time, the need to come up with decision making criteria normally arises.
