“<i>I Feel Therefore I Decide</i>”: Effect of Negative Emotions on Temporal Discounting and Probability Discounting

Temporal and probability discounting are considered two fundamental constructs in economic science, as they are associated with phenomena with major societal impact and a variety of sub-optimal behaviors and clinical conditions. Although it is well known that positive and negative affective states b...

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Autores principales: Cinzia Calluso, Maria Giovanna Devetag, Carmela Donato
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: MDPI AG 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/59008516140c4162a8355a9e0263da24
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:59008516140c4162a8355a9e0263da242021-11-25T16:56:41Z“<i>I Feel Therefore I Decide</i>”: Effect of Negative Emotions on Temporal Discounting and Probability Discounting10.3390/brainsci111114072076-3425https://doaj.org/article/59008516140c4162a8355a9e0263da242021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/11/1407https://doaj.org/toc/2076-3425Temporal and probability discounting are considered two fundamental constructs in economic science, as they are associated with phenomena with major societal impact and a variety of sub-optimal behaviors and clinical conditions. Although it is well known that positive and negative affective states bear important cognitive/behavioral consequences, the effect of emotional experiences on decision-making remains unclear due to the existence of many conflicting results. Inspired by the need to understand if and to what extent the current COVID-19 pandemic has determined changes in our decision-making processes by means of the unusual, prolonged experience of negative feelings, in this study we investigate the effect of anger, fear, sadness, physical and moral disgust on intertemporal and risky choices. Results show that all emotions significantly increase subjects’ preferences for immediate rewards over delayed ones, and for risky rewards over certain ones, in comparison to a “neutral emotion” condition, although the magnitude of the effect differs across emotions. In particular, we observed a more pronounced effect in the case of sadness and moral disgust. These findings contribute to the literature on emotions and decision-making by offering an alternative explanation to the traditional motivational appraisal theories. Specifically, we propose that the increased preference for immediate gratification and risky outcomes serves as a mechanism of self-reward aimed at down-regulating negative feelings and restore the individual’s “emotional balance”.Cinzia CallusoMaria Giovanna DevetagCarmela DonatoMDPI AGarticlenegative emotionsintertemporal choicerisky choiceemotion regulationself-regulationNeurosciences. Biological psychiatry. NeuropsychiatryRC321-571ENBrain Sciences, Vol 11, Iss 1407, p 1407 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic negative emotions
intertemporal choice
risky choice
emotion regulation
self-regulation
Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
RC321-571
spellingShingle negative emotions
intertemporal choice
risky choice
emotion regulation
self-regulation
Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
RC321-571
Cinzia Calluso
Maria Giovanna Devetag
Carmela Donato
“<i>I Feel Therefore I Decide</i>”: Effect of Negative Emotions on Temporal Discounting and Probability Discounting
description Temporal and probability discounting are considered two fundamental constructs in economic science, as they are associated with phenomena with major societal impact and a variety of sub-optimal behaviors and clinical conditions. Although it is well known that positive and negative affective states bear important cognitive/behavioral consequences, the effect of emotional experiences on decision-making remains unclear due to the existence of many conflicting results. Inspired by the need to understand if and to what extent the current COVID-19 pandemic has determined changes in our decision-making processes by means of the unusual, prolonged experience of negative feelings, in this study we investigate the effect of anger, fear, sadness, physical and moral disgust on intertemporal and risky choices. Results show that all emotions significantly increase subjects’ preferences for immediate rewards over delayed ones, and for risky rewards over certain ones, in comparison to a “neutral emotion” condition, although the magnitude of the effect differs across emotions. In particular, we observed a more pronounced effect in the case of sadness and moral disgust. These findings contribute to the literature on emotions and decision-making by offering an alternative explanation to the traditional motivational appraisal theories. Specifically, we propose that the increased preference for immediate gratification and risky outcomes serves as a mechanism of self-reward aimed at down-regulating negative feelings and restore the individual’s “emotional balance”.
format article
author Cinzia Calluso
Maria Giovanna Devetag
Carmela Donato
author_facet Cinzia Calluso
Maria Giovanna Devetag
Carmela Donato
author_sort Cinzia Calluso
title “<i>I Feel Therefore I Decide</i>”: Effect of Negative Emotions on Temporal Discounting and Probability Discounting
title_short “<i>I Feel Therefore I Decide</i>”: Effect of Negative Emotions on Temporal Discounting and Probability Discounting
title_full “<i>I Feel Therefore I Decide</i>”: Effect of Negative Emotions on Temporal Discounting and Probability Discounting
title_fullStr “<i>I Feel Therefore I Decide</i>”: Effect of Negative Emotions on Temporal Discounting and Probability Discounting
title_full_unstemmed “<i>I Feel Therefore I Decide</i>”: Effect of Negative Emotions on Temporal Discounting and Probability Discounting
title_sort “<i>i feel therefore i decide</i>”: effect of negative emotions on temporal discounting and probability discounting
publisher MDPI AG
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/59008516140c4162a8355a9e0263da24
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