Feb 22 2010
A Wallet Chained to Your Mood
Mood can influence your decisions. Not always, and perhaps not by much. But there is a growing body of research that demonstrates that thinking is not a purely cognitive (“mental”) activity. As mentioned yesterday, social context will influence it. Emotional state will too.
Recent research into mood and shopping decisions didn’t just compare good mood vs. bad, but two varieties of more pleasant moods. The news release posted at ScienceDaily included this summary of the results:
“We found that pride enhanced desire for public display products,” the authors write. “Feeling pride led people to want nice watches, shoes, and clothing for going out. However, pride did not enhance desire for home products.”
In contrast, the emotion of contentment led people to want products for their homes.
This research actually shows the influence of both emotion and social-emotion on decision-making. Interesting.
Why should findings like this be of interest to non-psychologists? Because any person aspiring to be a critical thinker should be aware of the many ways thought can be influenced. Including those ways outside of conscious awareness.
To know thyself is to understand how thinking can be skewed and to realize the importance of taking remedial counter-measures, whenever possible.
