Should We Keep Our Emotions Out of Our Decision Making?
By Sadie Williams
There is a saying, decide with your head and not with your heart. In many ways this saying does not make sense. Everything that controls what we do is in our brain. Our heart has no way of helping us decide. Sometimes we feel our heart rate pick up if we are nervous or excited, but even then, that is our brain telling our heart to speed up. The reason this saying exists is because there is a misconception that in order to make the right decision, we need to keep our emotions out of the process, but is that even possible?
Before getting into how our emotions can affect our decisions, we first need to know what emotions are. Here is a helpful quick guide to emotion (Davis, 2023). The information in this blog tells us that our emotions differ from our feelings, thoughts, and moods. A lot of times these words are used interchangeably. This is not a huge surprise because even though they are all technically different there is a lot of overlap.
Researchers in the field of psychology have found that emotions are a powerful tool when it comes to decision making. Have you ever been in the car and a song comes on that makes you sad? This could be because of a memory associated with it or simply because of the lyrics and melody. While the song is on you sort of zone out and when you zone back in you realize you are going 40 in a 30. There was a study done that showed when a person’s emotions were affected by a certain song, it had a direct impact on their behavior behind the wheel. The study did not have huge results, but it is enough for us to know that our emotions are linked to how we act in certain situations (Navarro et al.,2023). Our decisions are informed by our emotions. They also push us and motivate us.
There have been a number of times where my emotions have made me nervous about a situation. Whether that is picking the right major or deciding to go on a date with someone. These nervous emotions that I am feeling have led me to make the best decision for myself. Our ancestors relied on their emotions to stay alive. If you think about it, we are doing the same thing.
In a blog on Psychology Today titled, The Power of Emotions in Decision Making (Ratson, 2023). Ratson explains how much of an impact emotion can have on our decision-making process. Emotions are very powerful, and for most people they aren’t just something you can shut off. We are forced to make decisions every day of our lives. Sometimes they are small and sometimes they are decisions that could impact the rest of our lives. We feel this as we start to enter adulthood. For a lot of us we really start to feel this pressure as we graduate high school and are put in charge of deciding where we go next. As we continue in life and as the decisions get harder it is important that we don’t write off our emotions.
Sometimes it may feel like emotions are “getting in the way” or clouding our judgment. While this may be true in specific instances, it is often that they are there as a guide. Everyone is going to experience their own emotions. Our emotions are uniquely our own, and they are what make us who we are. They have been shaped by everything we have experienced throughout life. When we try to ignore them or suppress them, we might end up not doing what is best for us. We need to stop having emotional and rational compete, and start thinking that maybe a decision made by listening to our emotions is a rational decision.
References
Davis, T. (2023). A quick guide to emotion. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-for-happiness/202108/a-quick-guide-to-emotion
Navarro, J., Gaujoux, V., Claude Ouimet, M., Ferreri, L., & Reynaud, E. (2023). How does background music affect drivers’ behaviors, emotions, and mood behind the wheel? Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behavior, 98, 47–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2023.08.003
Ratson, M. (2023). The power of emotions in decision making. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-wisdom-of-anger/202308/the-power-of-emotions-in-decision-making