Effect of Emotions and Sociability on Human Decisions

Abstract

In the recent trends of research in cognitive science, psychology, neurology etc., emotions and sociability attracted the scientifically attention from decision researchers who are working in interdisciplinary areas. Decision making was viewed as a cognitive processa matter of estimating which of various alternative actions would yield the most positive consequences. Humans or decision makers are assumed to evaluate the potential consequences of their decisions dispassionately and to choose actions that maximized the utility of those consequences. The last several years, however, have witnessed a burst of interest in the role of emotions in decision making. Research conducted within the last decade has shown that even incidental affect that is unrelated to the decisions at hand can have a significant impact on judgment and choice (Bagozzi, Dholakia, & Basuroy, 2003; Barnes, & Thagard, 1996). Emotional deficits, whether innate or experimentally induced can degrade the quality of decision making (Damasio, 1994). Incorporating affect in models of decision making can greatly increase their explanatory power. Thus, contemporary decision research is characterized by an intense focus on emotions in behavioral and cognitive perspectives.In a similar line, we have several supported views of inculcating the minds of researchers in the role of sociability in decision making process. Sociability is an interpersonal skill or potential element to promote the thought process and insights and new emotion-related developments in order to make effective decisions. Thus the researchers concentrate to explore the influence of sociability on decision making in cognitive and behavioral dimensions. Human performance in the domain of decision taking has been the subject of active research from several perspectives. From a psychological perspective, it is necessary to examine individual decisions in the context of a set of needs, preferences and values they seek. From a cognitive perspective, the decision making process must be regarded as a continuous process integrated in the interaction of human with environment. From a normative perspective, the analysis of individual decisions is concerned with the logic of decision making and rationality along with the invariant choice it leads to.Yet, at another level, it might be regarded as a problem solving activity which is terminated when a satisfactory solution is reached. Therefore, decision making is a reasoning or emotional process which can be rational or irrational, based on explicit assumptions or tacit assumptions. As sociability influences the human decisions, People with low sociability due to lack of required interpersonal communication and social skills cannot make decisions on the frontline. These people may work better in situations that limit social interaction. People with high sociability work well with direct contact and communication skills for making effective decisions. In this dimension, the emotions and sociability plays vital role in psychological perspectives with emotional stability in making effective decisions.The variety of emotions and sociability in different perspectives, have major role in designing the network of decisions. Behind every decision in cognitive and behavioral aspects the brain circuitry allows the emotions in two pathways namely direct and indirect ways.Recent research suggests that emotions are just as influential as cognitive processes when it comes to decision making. This is interesting because emotions are often considered irrational occurrences that may distort reasoning (Barnes & Thagard, 1996). Research done by Isen and Patrick (1983) put forth the theory of mood maintenance which states that happy decision-makers are reluctant to gamble. In other words happy people decide against gambling, since they would not want to undermine the happy feeling. Raghunathan and Pham (1999) studied that emotions cannot simply be classified as positive or negative as we need to consider the consequences of the emotions in ultimate decision-making. …