XLRI School of Business Management and Human Resources

Title: The Role of Emotions in One’s Choice Making Behaviors

A Research Report Submitted To:

Prof ISF Irudayaraj

By

AS
CB
KM
MR
GR

Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, August 30, 2010

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Abstract

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Summary

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 Table of Contents

Contents:

I Context

1. Background of the Study of Emotions in the context of Organizational Behaviour

II Emotions

2. What are Emotions – Literature Review

3. Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions
4. Structure of Emotions
5. Function of Emotions

III Choices

6. Choices
7. Rational Logical Choice making
8. Emotional Choice Making
9. How Choices Affect Emotions – Do more options lead to happiness?

IV Relationship between Feeling and Thinking in Choice Making

10. Relationship between Feeling and Thinking – The concept of Affect Logic
11. Physiology of Choice making – The Brain and Hormones
12. The Significance of Emotions in Making Choices

The Case of Phineas Gage

De Martino’s Experiment
Somatic Marker Hypothesis

V Studying Emotions in Organizational Decision Making

13. Studies and Findings

VI Applications: Managing Emotions at the Workplace

14. Identifying Emotions for better Productivity

15. How to evoke positive emotions in work environment
Managing the environment
Managing Choices

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REPORT TEXT

I Context

13. Background of the Study of Emotions in the context of Organizational Behaviour

(Chandrani is doing this)

II Emotions

14. What are Emotions – Literature Review Chandrani

15. Plutchik’s Wheel of Emotions Chandrani

16. Structure of Emotions

17. Function of Emotions

III Choices

18. Choices
19. Rational Logical Choice making

20. Emotional Choice Making:

(Emotions in Decision making – An Essential Element Brian McAboy 2006 by New Ireland
Ventures ) See Pg 5, 6, 7

“Anticipatory Biases”: This basically means that before a decision to be made even reaches the
cognitive portion of the brain, the emotional process has begun evaluating the various inputs
related to that decision. This is vital to the speed at which we are able to make decisions.

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The most elemental emotional decision is one of assigning importance. This has to occur prior to
reaching the cognitive portion of the brain; otherwise you’d be overwhelmed with trivial
decisions and selecting where to focus your attention.

21. How Choices Affect Emotions – Do more options lead to happiness?

Chandrani will do this.

IV Relationship between Feeling and Thinking in Choice Making

22. Relationship between Feeling and Thinking – The concept of Affect Logic
REFER TO paper Affect Logic 1997

23. Physiology of Choice making – The Brain and Hormones

[The role of emotion in decision-making: Evidence

from neurological patients with orbitofrontal damage
Antoine Bechara*
Department of Neurology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA]

The studies of decision-making in neurological patients who can no longer process emotional
information normally suggest that people make judgments not only by evaluating the consequences
and their probability of occurring, but also and even sometimes primarily at a gut or emotional level.
Lesions of the ventromedial (which includes the orbitofrontal) sector of the prefrontal cortex interfere
with the normal processing of ‘‘somatic’’ or emotional signals, while sparing most basic cognitive
functions. Such damage leads to impairments in the decision-making process, which seriously
compromise the quality of decisions in daily life.

REFER TO BECHARA

24. The Significance of Emotions in Making Choices

Refer to OLGA and other papers

Recently, many philosophers, neuroscientists and psychologists have pointed

out that
emotions play an extremely important role not only in goal setting but also in
decision
making. The philosopher de Sousa, for example, claims that when dealing
with the issue of making decisions one can benefit significantly by accepting
the hypothesis that emotions are active participants in decision making, as
they make sure that only a small percentage of all possible alternatives and
facts become relevant in the process

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[De Sousa, R.: Why think? Evolution and the Rational Mind.
Oxford Unversity Press, Oxford, New York, 2002,]

Antonio Damasio has come to similar conclusions, but from the perspective
of neuroscience and psychology. His definitions of emotions and feelings and
the roles they play in decision making will be dealt with more thoroughly in
the following sections.
His first book, entitled Descartes’ Error, Damasio deals with the role of
emotions and feelings in decision making. As its very title suggests, Damasio
feels that Descartes wrongly identified rational decision making as being
immaterial and separate from emotions.

The Case of Phineas Gage

Refer to OLGA paper

De Martino’s Experiment
REFER to Affect Logic Paper

Somatic Marker Hypothesis

(REFER TO BECHARA) (for easy Refer to OLGA pg 5)

V Studying Emotions in Organizational Decision Making

REFER TO Toxic Decision Processes: A Study of Emotion and Organizational Decision

MakingAuthor(s): Sally Maitlis and Hakan OzcelikSource: Organization Science, Vol. 15, No. 4 (Jul. -
Aug., 2004), pp. 375-393Published by: INFORMSStable

13. Studies and Findings

Need to append or paste Tables on Pages: 379, 380 and 382 of same paper above.

VI Applications: Managing Emotions at the Workplace

16. Identifying Emotions for better Productivity

17. How to evoke positive emotions in work environment
Managing the environment
Managing Choices

I am trying to work on this section VI. Everyone please chip in with your
points.

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 Appendix
References:

Bibliography:

A Modern Approach to Interview Preparation: Gary W. Capone, Mark Henderson

Winning at Interview: Allan Jones

The Interview: Skills and Applications,William C. Donaghy

Managerial Communication (Oral)-Selected Readings- Prepared By FR A.C. JESURAJAN, S.J.

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