MCS 6950 - Dr. Mark Fenske

Dr. Mark Fenske - University of Guelph Psychology Department.

http://www.uoguelph.ca/psychology/page.cfm?id=615

Emotional and motivational consequences of cognitive inhibition

Abstract: Human behaviour (including consumer choice) largely depends on how individuals determine what is relevant to their current and long-term goals, which includes evaluations of emotional and motivational significance. These evaluations guide cognitive processes, including attention and response selection, to direct thoughts and actions toward objects and events that are helpful and away from those that are not. However, recent work by my lab and others has shown that certain operations of attention and response selection—particularly those involving  cognitive inhibition—can, in turn, significantly impact both the hedonic value (e.g., liking) and the motivational incentive (e.g., wanting) of a variety of stimuli. Revealing the fundamental characteristics of such interactions between cognition, emotion, and motivation may be particularly important for understanding how preferences are formed and modified through ongoing experience.

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