Environmental decisions: The interaction of emotions, information, and decision context

Abstract

Emotionality in environmental decisions arises from a complex interaction among the characteristics of the environmental planning problem, the attributes of the decider, and the situation in which decisions occur. The research reported here examines problem and situational characteristics which may influence emotional reactions and decision outcomes. Descriptions of one resource management problem were varied in a two-by-two-by-four factorial design with two writing styles (‘hot’ emotional and ‘cold’ objective), two decision contexts, and differential emphasis on four development and preservation issues. Subjects read a problem description, described, and evaluated a decision, placed the decision on a preservation-development continuum, and rated their emotionality on 42 scale items. Pro-development issue emphases resulted in more development decisions and lower decision confidence than did pro-preservation emphases. A trend for preservation decisions was found in response to the hot writing style. These results indicate that environmental decisions may be very sensitive to relatively subtle differences in the way information is presented. Emotions varied with the context in which decisions were made. Subjects who rated their emotions before making decisions had higher levels of negative emotion than those who made decisions before rating emotional reactions. Also, negative emotions were associated with preservation decisions. In order to understand better the role of emotion in environmental decisions, further studies of decision processes, behavioral consequences, individual differences, and a broader array of other environmental problems are needed.