What is the role of emotions in decision-making under bounded rationality?

Economics Bounded Rationality Questions



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What is the role of emotions in decision-making under bounded rationality?

Emotions play a significant role in decision-making under bounded rationality. Bounded rationality refers to the limited cognitive abilities of individuals to process and analyze all available information when making decisions. In such situations, emotions can serve as heuristics or shortcuts that help individuals make quicker and more efficient decisions.

Emotions can influence decision-making by providing individuals with intuitive cues or signals about the desirability or riskiness of different options. For example, a positive emotion like excitement or joy may indicate that a particular choice is more favorable, while negative emotions like fear or disgust may signal potential risks or drawbacks.

Additionally, emotions can also impact the evaluation and weighting of different decision criteria. People tend to give more weight to emotionally salient factors, even if they are not objectively more important. This can lead to biased decision-making, as emotions may override rational analysis and lead to suboptimal choices.

Furthermore, emotions can also influence the perception and interpretation of information. Individuals under bounded rationality may rely on emotional responses to filter and process information, leading to selective attention and biased decision-making.

Overall, emotions play a crucial role in decision-making under bounded rationality by providing intuitive cues, influencing the evaluation of decision criteria, and shaping the perception and interpretation of information. However, it is important to recognize and manage the potential biases that emotions can introduce to ensure more rational and informed decision-making.