The heuristics of affection say that emotions determine much of our thoughts and, therefore, of our own decisions, something like this has great relevance, for example, in the way we eat, how we buy and how we react to the daily difficulties of life, moments when there is not always time to think, to think better.
In a world full of precipitation, emotional-only assessments govern much of our behavior. We would all like more time to filter and process much of the information we receive. It would be amazing to be able to interrupt the movement of the trot. and stop the time to enjoy in a more relaxed way everything around us.
- However.
- This is not always possible.
- For this reason.
- We often formulate answers.
- Follow behaviors and make decisions in seconds.
- Without any of this going through the mental analysis room or the reflection mat.
Subject matter experts such as Daniel Kahneman, cognitive psychologist, Nobel laureate and decision maker, show us an interesting aspect.
When you think fast, you often think wrong. And we don’t do it for a simple reason: because we don’t feel good either, because our mood is by no means the most favorable, after all people can’t choose what they want to feel, and when more complex emotions take over, reality becomes more complicated.
“Nothing is as serious as it sounds when you think calmly. “- Daniel Kahneman-
The heuristics of affection remind us that the world of emotions is more powerful than you might think, in fact neuroscientists are not wrong when they say that human beings are first and foremosm an emotional creature that, one day, learned to think.
Antonio Damasio, cognitive neurobiologist known for his work as a promoter, explains in The Strange Order of Things that emotions, understood primarily as somatic markers, influence much of our reasoning, so, although we sometimes assume that “controlling thought, we master emotions”, is not as simple as it seems.
A heuristic is a mental shortcut. This is a strategy we use to solve a specific problem as quickly and easily as possible, so we understand that emotional heuristics are answers and choices we make unconsciously, depending on how we felt at that time.
These assessments based solely on affection (not reflection) are quick and automatic, but does that mean that any decision we make with these heuristics is incorrect ?, is the answer no ?, as Slovic, Finucane, Peters and MacGregor explain (2002) the heuristics also come from our experiences.
Here are some simple examples
A study by Dr. Paul Slovic of the University of Oregon indicates that this type of heuristic judgment of the condition occurs when people do not have time to think or when our mood is very low and we cannot think clearly, more thoughtfully.
The heuristics of affection show us that this kind of “mental shortcut” – half a part of our decisions, big or small. Sometimes, there is no doubt, we can act correctly letting ourselves be carried away by this first impulse, by this somatic impression, as defined by Antonio Damasio.
However, in most cases, when we act automatically and purely emotionally, we get carried away with behaviors that are harmful and even negative to ourselves, for example, eating disorders, addictive behaviors can develop or simply make a decision that will then be over. repenting completely.
To avoid (or at least control) such behaviors, it is not enough to completely exclude the emotional component of our mind, people are essentially emotions and, therefore, we must not separate them, but understand, manage, integrate and dominate them.
Dr. Daniel Kahneman explains in his book Fast and Slow: Two Ways of Thinking, that we must promote a more leisurely and deliberative thought so as not to always get carried away by the first impulse. Balancing emotions with a sense of logic, passing the feeling through the sieve of proper reflection, will certainly help us make more thoughtful and probably even more accurate decisions. At least we should try.