Emotions underlying decision-making: Applications in different areas

This project aims to carry out a set of studies on the emotions underlying decision-making. The studies will be carried out within different areas of activity, highlighting applications in the areas of i) health care and ii) personal finances.

i) the insufficiency of resources that characterizes health systems all over the world conditions respect for one of the basic principles on which developed societies are based – the right to health. In developed countries, scaling healthcare costs at a higher rate than wealth creation calls into question the financial viability of healthcare systems and the welfare state. In this sense, an issue that dominates political concerns in the area of health is knowing how to equitably distribute the increasingly scarce health resources. Rationing, which has always been inevitable, has become absolutely evident and requires the definition of explicit criteria that support the allocation of resources, especially in extreme situations that involve choosing who to treat and who to deny treatment. This project seeks to identify the criteria that the general population and health professionals consider to be the most appropriate when choosing patients to treat, in contexts of scarcity of resources. Making these types of decisions, however, involves value judgments which, due to their nature (decisions of life or death), can translate into many emotional states.
The aim is to explore the emotions that this type of decision-making, in hypothetical scenarios, raises in people and healthcare professionals. Comparing the emotional states of these two groups is important to determine whether the values of the population do not conflict with those of the health professionals responsible for
land, due to these rationing decisions.

ii) Emotions play an important role in financial decision making. Individuals often make financial decisions based on their emotions, rather than rationally analyzing the available data. Emotions can also influence how individuals process financial information. For example, when they feel threatened or anxious, they may have difficulty understanding complex financial concepts or making important financial decisions. Additionally, some emotions may be more beneficial than others in making financial decisions. For example, confidence can help individuals make more assertive decisions, while fear can lead them to avoid unnecessary risks. In the context of hypothetical scenarios, the Understanding the emotions underlying financial decision-making can help develop more effective strategies and policies to improve financial literacy and help individuals make more informed and objective financial decisions.