This article is about the role of affect in the way people think and act in strategic social situations. The article begins with a brief discussion of historical ideas about the relations among affect, thinking, and behavior, and early psychological explanations based on psychodynamic and conditioning theories are considered. Next, contemporary affect-cognition theories are reviewed, and a multiprocess approach to explaining the existing evidence is outlined. In the second half of the article, recent empirical research is reviewed demonstrating the systematic influence of affective states on a variety of interactive behaviors. These experiments show that affect can significantly influence the way people interact with each other, the way they formulate and respond to interpersonal requests, the way they plan and execute bargaining and negotiating strategies, and the way they produce and use persuasive messages. Throughout, an integrative explanation of these findings is advocated, emphasizing the role of different information-processing strategies in moderating these effects. (A)
Abstract