About the Feelings, Behavior, and Information Processing Lab
Scientists and philosophers have long debated whether people should strive to engage in rational and logical thought or if they should rely on their feelings. Some assume that decisions that are informed by one's feelings are somehow less wise than those informed solely by the facts. Others believe that people should be emotionally aware and pay attention to their feelings, for feelings can provide valuable information.ave you ever wondered how and why feelings affect people's actions?
The Feelings, Behavior, and Information Processing Lab investigates when, why, and how feelings influence people's daily lives. Three questions that we are currently addressing are:
When are feelings influential?
How might differences in people's beliefs and personality alter the way in which feelings function?
Can people limit the influence of their feelings?
When are feelings influential?
Feelings often influence people when they seem relevant to and inform the task at hand. For instance, suppose you are asked whether or not you like Joe? If you are feeling happy at the time, you may experience those feelings as indicating that you feel favorably towards him. Thus, your feelings are providing you with information about Joe.
How feelings inform people depends on the circumstances. Our lab investigates how feelings influence a variety of tasks, including tasks that are relevant to creativity, problem solving ability, judgment, perception, self understanding, and attitudes. We also look at how people's goals and motivation might alter the informational value of their feelings. Examples of this research including examining the effects of affect on Global and Local Processing and Functional Fixedness.
Finally, plenty of research exists on whether feeling positive or negative may have affected our feelings. But what about when we feel neutral about something? We are currently examining how Neutral Affect influences decisions and information processing.
How might differences in people's beliefs and personality alter the way in which feelings function?
People differ in how they think about their feelings. Some people pay attention to their feelings all the time, whereas others may place little value on them. Our lab is currently investigating what types of beliefs people hold about their feelings and how these beliefs may alter the way in which feelings function. For example, our research on Following Affective States addresses this question.
Can people limit the influence of their feelings?
In many situations, people feel the need to regulate and control their feelings. One issue that the lab examines is whether or not people are effective in doing so, and under what circumstances. For instance, people often don't rely on their feelings as a source of information when that attribute that information to an irrelevant source.
Some of this material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number (0952848). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.