36 Emotion – Cognition Interactions

Viewing affect and cognition as independent from one another has had a long history. Even if interaction between the two was entertained, affect was seen as contaminating cognition, leading to errant thinking and suboptimal decisions. A quite different perspective has emerged in recent years. From this view, rather than constituting distinct constructs or opposing forces, affect and cognition are intimately intertwined and the influence of affect is seen as functional rather than dysfunctional. This chapter reviews how affective states, such as moods and emotions, influence memory, perception, judgment, and cognitive processing style. Many of these influences can be understood by the idea that affect provides information. It is noted that many of the hallmark findings in cognitive psychology appear to have an affective trigger.