Emotional vs Rational
Posted on: Thursday, June 4, 2015 Category: Uncategorized (59)2 min read
We have been obsessed with the emotional vs the rational forever. Many people in the past have made this a discussion on the sexes. Women are emotional and men are rational. But that is just plain wrong.
The thing is, all of us are far more guided by our emotions than we would ever care to admit. Psychologists call the fact that emotion and intuition drives our judgements the Affect Heuristic. The Affect Heuristic is where judgements and decisions are guided directly by feelings of liking and disliking, rather than deliberation or reason – the 7,38,55 rule.
When we are confronted with any kind of problem, choosing an investment option, making a move in a chess game, deciding where to go on holiday, deciding what to wear – our intuitive thinking capability does all that it can. If we have the right knowledge in this space, we recognise the situation (based on past experience) and will often make the right decision.
If we don’t have the right knowledge – more often than not – intuition still kicks in and we make a decision based on an easier question. Instead of – ‘Should I invest in stock A?’, we ask ‘Do I like stock A?’
The same happens when you are being assessed for a job. As much as people invent ‘objective’ scorecards for hiring someone or determining their pay or bonus – at the end of the day, the final decision is based on whether they like the individual. It is just how our brain works. And what your personal brand is and how you present that will determine just how much someone likes you.
