Interpreting the Influence of Emotions

Introduction: Emotions and their influences

The impacts of behavior and emotional perception play a decisive role in our everyday lives (Vuori, et al, 2016). The following will break down three aspects of the influence of emotions; memory, attention, and decision making. For the succinctness of this page, these domains will be purposefully placed in three tenses (past-memory, attention-present, and decision making-future) to help illustrate metacognitive processes of emotions while they occur (Explore SEL., 2022).

Memory

Attention

Decision Making

Past - Memory

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From courtrooms to the counseling chair, memories of eyewitnesses are not always as reliable as perceived (Hirst et al., 2015). Emotions, particularly ones that correlate with trauma or intense experiences, can be highly persuasive to the actual events that take place ( (Hirst et al., 2015, Houston et al., 2013). Such is the case in a study that tracked the memories of the witnesses of the attack on the trade towers, September 9/11/ (Hirst et al., 2015).

Furthermore, studies have shown that memories can also change over the repetition of their telling; as certain emotions are brought to light, the narrative can be influenced to create alternate outcomes (Houston et al., 2013).

Present - Attention

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According to research, the constant stream of social offerings, media, and marketing our executive functions have impacted our cognitive load (Mittal et al., 2020). Meaning the more things grasp for our attention, such as fear-of-missing-out from social media, as well as act-now-advertising and triggering narratives are flooded through platforms like Facebook and Twitter, the task becomes more and more challenging to take the necessary time to differentiate between meaningful sources and appropriate attention (Mittal et al., 2020). 

Furthermore, in the new digital frontier, the landscape is ever-changing, albeit unevenly. Such as with the differentiation between cultural norms and perceptions (Our cultural backgrounds influence how we interpret emojis, U of T study finds, 2020). Not all social interactions are understood the same. Where there is confusion, there is an opportunity for persons to feel strongly offended (Our cultural backgrounds influence how we interpret emojis, U of T study finds, 2020, Mittal et al., 2020).

“Like a plague of locusts, they give us no rest. They gobble our irreplaceable asset: our time. The faster we swat them away, the faster they arrive. Our modern locust plague is email.”
— Stephen J. Dubner, Surviving "the Tyranny of E-mail

Future - Decison Making

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While memories can shift and attention can erode, there is light at the end of these emerging trials of the 21st century. The influences of emotional states as they correlate to learning and attention reflect on the social and emotional intelligence of the person (Explore SEL.,2022, Fundamentals of SEL., 2022). This understanding has come into more excellent light, especially in the educational sector, emphasizing SEL (social and emotional learning)(Explore SEL.,2022, Fundamentals of SEL., 2022). Research has discovered that when people can increase their EQ (emotional intelligence), they can improve their relationships, foster community, develop self-awareness, coping skills, and better decision-making skills (Explore SEL.,2022, Fundamentals of SEL., 2022).

Conclusion

When the influences of emotions are framed in the past, present, and future tense, it allows for impact (Mittal et al., 2020). Meaning emotions affect how we perceive an event or even a person, such as remembering how we felt more readily when there is an emotional index (Vuori, et al, 2016). Secondly, as attention spans are constantly being bombarded through social media, news, and advertising, emotions run raw, causing less articulate behavior(Vuori, et al, 2016). Finally, a lack of social and emotional intelligence leads to degraded self-awareness. Through social and emotional learning behavior can positively be impacted and even improved decision-making (Explore SEL.,2022, Fundamentals of SEL., 2022).

References:

  • Hirst, W., Phelps, E. A., Meksin, R., Vaidya, C. J., Johnson, M. K., Mitchell, K. J., Buckner, R. L., Budson, A. E., Gabrieli, J. D. E., Lustig, C., Mather, M., Ochsner, K. N., Schacter, D., Simons, J. S., Lyle, K. B., Cuc, A. F., & Olsson, A. (2015). A ten-year follow-up of a study of memory for the attack of September 11, 2001: Flashbulb memories and memories for flashbulb events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(3), 604–623. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000055

  • Houston, K. A., Clifford, B. R., Phillips, L. H., & Memon, A. (2013). The emotional eyewitness: The effects of emotion on specific aspects of eyewitness recall and recognition performance. Emotion, 13(1), 118–128. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029220

  • Mittal, M., Asghar, M. R., & Tripathi, A. (2020). Do My Emotions Influence What I Share? Analysing the Effects of Emotions on Privacy Leakage in Twitter. 2020 IEEE 19th International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications (TrustCom), Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing and Communications (TrustCom), 2020 IEEE 19th International Conference on, TRUSTCOM, 1228–1235. https://doi.org/10.1109/TrustCom50675.2020.00165

  • Our cultural backgrounds influence how we interpret emojis, U of T study finds. (2020, July 22). Canadian Government News, NA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A630291819/CPI?u=pres1571&sid=ebsco&xid=00085c98

  • Vuori, T. O., & Huy, Q. N. (2016). Distributed Attention and Shared Emotions in the Innovation Process. Administrative Science Quarterly, 61(1), 9–51. https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839215606951