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The Influence of Affect on Health Decisions

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Handbook of Health Decision Science

Abstract

To understand how affect influences judgment and choice is important because it is often a better predictor than thoughts. In addition, affect manipulations can facilitate judgment and choice. Affect, of course, also can hinder decision making. With immediate strong emotions from a new diagnosis, healthcare providers should ensure that patients have time to stop and think. To understand how to maximize the beneficial effects of affect while minimizing any harms will assist patients in making better, more reasoned choices about their health.

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Acknowledgments

This paper is based in part on the chapter “The functions of affect in the construction of preferences” by E. Peters, which appears in S. Lichtenstein and P. Slovic (Eds.), 2006, The construction of preference. New York: Cambridge University Press. Preparation of this paper was supported in part by the National Science Foundation (SES-1047757 and -1155924).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1835 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Ellen Peters & Louise Meilleur

Authors
  1. Ellen Peters
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  2. Louise Meilleur
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Correspondence to Ellen Peters .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA

    Michael A. Diefenbach

  2. Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Suzanne Miller-Halegoua

  3. Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Deborah J. Bowen

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Peters, E., Meilleur, L. (2016). The Influence of Affect on Health Decisions. In: Diefenbach, M., Miller-Halegoua, S., Bowen, D. (eds) Handbook of Health Decision Science. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3486-7_8

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