338 Understanding Emotional Decision Making
positions,^339 they are less likely to engage the confi rmation bias. When voters put into an angry
mood were given the opportunity to read more about a U.S. presidential election, they were
more likely to choose to read information that disconfi rmed their position than voters put into
sad or neutral moods. They were also more likely to change their position after reading the dis-
confi rming information.^340
The Effects of Incidental Fear
Audiences put into fearful moods, such as employees who have received a threatening reprimand,
tend to make pessimistic judgments about future events much as sad people do. They also tend to
make relatively pessimistic risk assessments and risk-averse choices.^341 In a study of the infl uence
of incidental fear on recruiters’ hiring decisions, recruiters put into a fearful mood perceived their
hiring decision as being more risky than recruiters put into an angry mood. The angry recruiters
tended to be optimistic about the applicants’ ability to satisfy the job requirements. In contrast, the
fearful recruiters were pessimistic about the applicants’ ability and were reluctant to give them high
ratings.^342 Interestingly, job applicants put into fearful moods are also more risk averse. They avoid
taking big risks when choosing among job offers even when the potential reward is great.^343
Despite its drawbacks, incidental fear can actually aid audience decision making. Audiences putinto fearful moods tend to process persuasive messages in a rational and systematic way.^344 Inciden-
tal fear can also break the audience out of their habitual decision-making routines^345 and stimulate
a reassessment of their previous preferences. For example, voters watching political campaign ads
feel less certain about their choice of candidates when the music and images in the ads put them in
a fearful mood. Campaign ads that induce a fearful mood motivate voters, especially knowledgeable
ones, to search for more information about the other candidates.^346
EMOTIONS IN AUDIENCE DECISION MAKING:
IMPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNICATORS
- The main takeaway for communicators in Chapter 7 is that each different emotion an
audience experiences will affect its decision in an emotion-specific way. - Use the information presented in the chapter to anticipate the effects of your audience’s
current moods and emotions on their decisions and to make appeals that affect your
audience’s decisions in specific ways. - Why use the information? To increase the chances of the audience making the decision
you desire. To enhance audience perceptions of you as a leader. - If you need to improve your ability to recognize others’ emotions, refer to the section on
emotions in Chapter 6. You can then determine the effect of that emotion on decision
making. If you need to evoke a different emotion from your audience, refer to the section
in this chapter on emotional appeals and intensifiers.
Notes
1 Gore, A., & Bush, G. W. (2000). The first Gore–Bush presidential debate. Retrieved November 9, 2009 from
http://www.debates.org/pages/trans2000a.html.
2 Westen, D. (2007, p. 33). The political brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation. New York:
Public Affairs.