BazermanMoore

100 Chapter 5: Motivational and Emotional Influences on Decision Making
to have a ‘cooling effect’ on the passion of the House of Representatives, so cost–benefit
analysis might ensure that policy is driven not by hysteria or alarm, but by a full appreciation
of the effects of relevant risks and their control.’’ Essentially, Sunstein suggests
that institutionalizing the use of logical decision-making processes would protect our
society from being overly influenced by temporary emotions. Unfortunately, in the
U.S. Congress, Democrats too often have rejected the use of cost-benefit analysis out
of hand, while Republicans have conducted biased cost-benefit analyses to support
their viewpoints. Congress should use cost-benefit analysis to make wise decisions,
rather than rejecting it outright or using it to push for partisan policies.
This chapter has offered a different perspective on decision biases than was offered
in the first four cognition-oriented chapters. Specifically, it has focused on biases that
emanate from motivational and emotional influences within the individual. We have
reviewed the motivational pressures of momentary desires, the need to view ourselves
in a positive manner, the tendency to view events according to how we would like them
to turn out, and how emotions can change decisions in systematic ways. Certainly, other
motivational and emotional influences exist. This chapter simply serves to highlight the
additive role of motivation and emotion, beyond the role of cognition, in understanding
unusual patterns in our decision-making processes. While it may be difficult for us to
control our emotional responses, a fuller understanding of how they influence our
choices is likely to improve our decisions.