Abstract
Anticipatory emotions precede behavioral outcomes and provide a means to infer interactions between emotional and cognitive processes. A number of theories hold that anticipatory emotions serve as inputs to the decision process and code the value or risk associated with a stimulus. We argue that current data do not unequivocally support this theory. We present an alternative theory whereby anticipatory emotions reflect the outcome of a decision process and serve to ready the subject for new information when making an uncertain response. We test these two accounts, which we refer to as emotions-as-input and emotions-as-outcome, in a task that allows risky stimuli to be dissociated from uncertain responses. We find that emotions are associated with responses as opposed to stimuli. This finding is contrary to the emotions-as-input perspective as it shows that emotions arise from decision processes.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 195-200 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Cognition |
Volume | 112 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 2009 |
Keywords
- Anticipatory emotions
- Category learning
- Emotion
- Somatic markers
- decision making