Why do we rely on our current emotions when making quick decisions?

Affect Heuristic

, explained
Bias

What is the Affect Heuristic?

The affect heuristic describes how we often rely on our emotions, rather than concrete information, when making decisions. This allows us to reach a conclusion quickly and easily, but can also distort our thinking and lead us to make suboptimal choices.

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Affect Heuristic

Where this bias occurs

Your friend Casey has been invited to audition for a play being put on by a prestigious theater company. Casey has always had a passion for acting, and this would be a big opportunity for them. However, Casey received the invitation the same day they learned they failed their driving test. Not only was Casey angry and upset, but their self-esteem took a serious hit. As a result, they impulsively told the theater company that they were not interested in auditioning for the play, assuming they wouldn’t get the part anyways.

Casey’s negative emotions after failing their driving test led them to overestimate the risks of auditioning for the play. They felt that there was a good chance that they would fail again. This is illogical, as Casey’s driving ability is completely independent of their acting ability. As a result, they are missing out on what could have been a great experience for them. This scenario exemplifies the affect heuristic, demonstrating how we sometimes rely on our emotions instead of logic when making decisions.

Sources

  1. Finucane, M. L., Alhakami, A., Slovic, P., & Johnson, S. M. (2000). The affect heuristic in judgments of risks and benefits. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 13(1), 1–17. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-0771(200001/03)13
  2. See 1
  3. System 1 and System 2 Thinking. The Marketing Society. https://www.marketingsociety.com/think-piece/system-1-and-system-2-thinking
  4. Cherry, K. (2020). The Affect Heuristic and Decision Making. Very Well Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-affect-heuristic-2795028
  5. Zajonc, R. B. (1980). Feeling and thinking: preferences need no inferences. American Psychologist, 35(2), 151–175. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.35.2.151
  6. Slovic, P., Finucane, M.L., Peters, E., and MacGregor, D.G. (2000). The affect heuristic. European Journal of Operational Research. 177(2007), 1333-1352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2005.04.006
  7. Hammond, D., Fong, G.T., McDonald, P.W., Brown, Stephen K., and Cameron, R. (2004). Graphic Canadian Cigarette Warning Labels and Adverse Outcomes: Evidence from Canadian Smokers. American Journal for Public Health. 94, 1142-1445. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.94.8.1442
  8. See 5

About the Authors

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Dan Pilat

Dan is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. Dan has a background in organizational decision making, with a BComm in Decision & Information Systems from McGill University. He has worked on enterprise-level behavioral architecture at TD Securities and BMO Capital Markets, where he advised management on the implementation of systems processing billions of dollars per week. Driven by an appetite for the latest in technology, Dan created a course on business intelligence and lectured at McGill University, and has applied behavioral science to topics such as augmented and virtual reality.

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Dr. Sekoul Krastev

Sekoul is a Co-Founder and Managing Director at The Decision Lab. He is a bestselling author of Intention - a book he wrote with Wiley on the mindful application of behavioral science in organizations. A decision scientist with a PhD in Decision Neuroscience from McGill University, Sekoul's work has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and has been presented at conferences around the world. Sekoul previously advised management on innovation and engagement strategy at The Boston Consulting Group as well as on online media strategy at Google. He has a deep interest in the applications of behavioral science to new technology and has published on these topics in places such as the Huffington Post and Strategy & Business.

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