Emotions and Info Processing

what we notice, what we remember, and how we reason

• positive emotions lead to no specific behavior, but to an increased readiness to explore new ideas and opportunities
• expands focus of attention

ppl more likely to remember emotionally arousing events

emotional arousal –> epinephrine and cortisol

epi + cortisol –> vagus nerve –> amygdala –> memory storage

• a drug that temporarily disables the stress hormone system responsible for some types of emotional arousal
• those that took the beta-blocker and in the "neutral" condition did worst on answering the questions compared to those that took the placebo

• is more active when viewing emotionally intense slides/pictures that when viewing neutral ones
• the more activation, the more accurate

• emotion-laden, vivid, and highly detailed memories almost photographic quality
• not always accurate, despite how confident we are about them

• ppl use their emotional state as information in reaching a decision about some target, even if the target did not evoke the emotion
• ex. a group of ppl that wrote about how 9/11 made them feel fear tended to estimated that they were in danger and so was the country

• an attitude that influences behavior even when we cannot or do not verbalize it
• ex. "cloudy day" effect disappears when weather asked

ppl who are mildly depressed, pessimistic, or at least neutral, are more realistic than highly optimistic ppl, to perceive themselves and their situation accurately, and, therefore, to make more careful can correct decisions

mildly depressed or even having a mixture of happy and depressed characteristics

• consists of providing facts and logic
• ppl use this when they their their decision is worthy
• depressed/sad ppl use this more often

• consists of superficial factors such as a frequent repetition of a slogan or endorsements by celebrities
• ppl in a happy mood more likely to use this route