Annotated Bibliography On Hot Cognition

Kunda, Z. (1999). Hot Cognition (ch. 6, pp. 211-263). In Social Cognition.

• Our most rational, subjectively trustworthy thoughts and perceptions are heavily influenced by our motivations and emotions. Does this mean that we can’t trust our perceptions?

 How we perceive things is impacted by our motivation as outcome dependency does bias our judgment.

 We perceive individuals more positively and favorably when we are dependent on the person.

• Kunda says we only allow ourselves to think things that are helpful to our goals, and that reality determines what will be helpful. Since therapists don’t usually directly observe our patients’ lives, how can we help them to think more effectively?

 We could engage clients in goal setting activities

 Use mindfulness to encourage clients to remain in the moment while making a decision or working toward a goal as mood-congruent material relevant to the judgment can impair clients’ ability to make rational choices.

Schwarz, N., & Clore, G. L. (2003). Mood as Information: 20 Years Later. Psychological Inquiry, 14(3-4), 296-303.

• How rational were Schwarz & Clore in developing their research programs?

 The use of the misattribution material appeared creative but could be considered somewhat unethical given the impact of the sad events recall on an individual’s functioning.

 They incorporated a blind technique in the weather experiment to rule out extraneous variables and to make the study more tolerable.

 The misplaced punch cards with data may have impacted the result of the study.

• Schwarz & Clore describe mood, emotion, and feelings as having informational effects on cognition. How could you use these informational effects which must be inaccurate or unhelpful in emotional disorders to improve patients’ distress?

 Encourage clients to challenge the information obtained from their evaluative judgment in response to “how do I feel about

 Creativity can be used by clients with mental health issues to express and share their stories in hopes to normalize being open and challenge the stigma associated with mental illness.

 Creativity could also be used to create a space for individuals with mental health issues to acknowledge, interpret and embrace the healing properties of creativity.

• It can be as destructive to be overly conservative about information that might help guide intervention as to be overly liberal in applying information that is not trustworthy. How can we best use the complicated relationships between creativity and mood disorders?

 Individuals with mood disorder often demonstrate greater verbal fluency and/or ruminative tendencies, characteristics that may play a role in verbal performance creativity. As such, we could use the information gathered to guide how the intervention selected will be presented and used with clients.

 Clinicians who treat creative individuals also should be mindful of the literature on mood disorders and remain cognizant of the suggestion that creativity may enhance or diminish treatment.

 Clinicians are also encouraged to be sensitive and supportive