THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS IN DECISION-MAKING

This article reviews many results of recent investigations in areas related to decision-making. The classic conception of a rational human being is yielding to new, more complex and integrated formulations in which emotional and affective aspects occupy a prominent position. Decision-making is tackled from different points of view, among which the neurological one plays a major role, and the evidence obtained in studies on positive affect, impulsivity and several emotions such as anger and sadness is reviewed. On the whole, the results show that any explanation of the way a human being makes decisions must necessarily consider emotional and affective states, so as not to make the mistake of using limited and biased explicative models.