Affective integration in experience, judgment, and decision-making

Abstract The role of affect in value-based judgment and decision-making has attracted increasing interest in recent decades. Most previous approaches neglect the temporal dependence of mental states leading to mapping a relatively well-defined, but largely static, feeling state to a behavioral tende...

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Main Authors: Erkin Asutay, Daniel Västfjäll
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2024-12-01
Series:Communications Psychology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00178-2
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author Erkin Asutay
Daniel Västfjäll
author_facet Erkin Asutay
Daniel Västfjäll
author_sort Erkin Asutay
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The role of affect in value-based judgment and decision-making has attracted increasing interest in recent decades. Most previous approaches neglect the temporal dependence of mental states leading to mapping a relatively well-defined, but largely static, feeling state to a behavioral tendency. In contrast, we posit that expected and experienced consequences of actions are integrated over time into a unified overall affective experience reflecting current resources under current demands. This affective integration is shaped by context and continually modulates judgments and decisions. Changes in affective states modulate evaluation of new information (affect-as-information), signal changes in the environment (affect-as-a-spotlight) and influence behavioral tendencies in relation to goals (affect-as-motivation). We advocate for an approach that integrates affective dynamics into decision-making paradigms. This dynamical account identifies the key variables explaining how changes in affect influence information processing may provide us with new insights into the role of affect in value-based judgment and decision-making.
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spelling doaj-art-de85a820444f49508502aa4462e2e25c2025-08-20T01:57:12ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Psychology2731-91212024-12-012111210.1038/s44271-024-00178-2Affective integration in experience, judgment, and decision-makingErkin Asutay0Daniel Västfjäll1Department of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Division of Psychology, Jedi-Lab, Linköping UniversityDepartment of Behavioral Sciences and Learning, Division of Psychology, Jedi-Lab, Linköping UniversityAbstract The role of affect in value-based judgment and decision-making has attracted increasing interest in recent decades. Most previous approaches neglect the temporal dependence of mental states leading to mapping a relatively well-defined, but largely static, feeling state to a behavioral tendency. In contrast, we posit that expected and experienced consequences of actions are integrated over time into a unified overall affective experience reflecting current resources under current demands. This affective integration is shaped by context and continually modulates judgments and decisions. Changes in affective states modulate evaluation of new information (affect-as-information), signal changes in the environment (affect-as-a-spotlight) and influence behavioral tendencies in relation to goals (affect-as-motivation). We advocate for an approach that integrates affective dynamics into decision-making paradigms. This dynamical account identifies the key variables explaining how changes in affect influence information processing may provide us with new insights into the role of affect in value-based judgment and decision-making.https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00178-2
spellingShingle Erkin Asutay
Daniel Västfjäll
Affective integration in experience, judgment, and decision-making
Communications Psychology
title Affective integration in experience, judgment, and decision-making
title_full Affective integration in experience, judgment, and decision-making
title_fullStr Affective integration in experience, judgment, and decision-making
title_full_unstemmed Affective integration in experience, judgment, and decision-making
title_short Affective integration in experience, judgment, and decision-making
title_sort affective integration in experience judgment and decision making
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s44271-024-00178-2
work_keys_str_mv AT erkinasutay affectiveintegrationinexperiencejudgmentanddecisionmaking
AT danielvastfjall affectiveintegrationinexperiencejudgmentanddecisionmaking