The Arousing Effect in Decision Making: A Distinction Between Valence and Arousal in the Measurement of Emotional Awareness and Cognitive Processing

Abstract

This thesis examines the effects of emotional awareness on cognitive processing in a subsequent decision making case. We assert that emotional awareness has valuable implications for mental health and well being, but also decision speed and learning. Rather than taking a purely valence-based approach, our findings suggests that other emotional aspects than subjective valence are indeed important in the study of emotions and decision making. Our results highlight the importance of subjective arousal, and emphasize the inclusion of emotional awareness in future studies in the field of judgment and decision making. Further results showed that emotional awareness had a strong positive correlation with intuitive processing, and a negative correlation with analytical processing. As predicted, subjective arousal was negatively related to analytical processing style and positively related to intuitive processing style. Both subjective arousal and valence were further significant in explaining the relationship between emotional awareness and intuitive processing. Overall, findings imply that studies may benefit from going beyond valence when investigating emotion and its effects on cognitive processing. Our findings further provide an insight into how individuals evaluate emotions as information in cognitive processing, and thereby decision making behaviour. Findings, practical implications, future research and limitations will be discussed.