Västfjäll is a professor of cognitive psychology at Linköping University, and is interested in how emotions arise and affect us in our daily lives. Much of his research is devoted to studying how we make decisions and the role emotions play in those decisions.

Emotions are both a driving force and a brake in our decisions, as he explains:

“Emotions motivate us to help and contribute but can also make us act less effectively.”

Västfjäll is particularly interested in the concept of “impact neglect.” This is our tendency to overlook and misjudge the effect of our actions. Guided by emotions, we tend to focus on the immediate and specific rather than what would systematically be most effective.

He mentions climate as an example of our tendency to overestimate the effect of actions such as recycling, whereas the importance of major lifestyle changes such as flying less or ceasing to eat meat is often underestimated.

Another striking example is how we often react strongly to a single poignant image but remain passive in the face of recurring disasters.

Västfjäll recalls the photo of the Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi, who was found dead on a beach in 2015. The event temporarily opened the hearts and wallets of the world to refugees.

“We could measure how donations to the Swedish Red Cross multiplied the day the image appeared in the media. But donation levels soon returned to normal.”

This rapid emotional reaction was in stark contrast to the long-term need for assistance.

Important concepts

Another phenomenon is “pseudoinefficacy” – being aware of all those we cannot help dampens our sense of wellbeing and willingness to help those we could reach.

One conclusion is that human behavior must be analyzed as a complex mix of emotions, norms, social contexts and cognitive abilities.

“We need an interdisciplinary approach to address questions of this kind,” says Västfjäll.

The current project involves collaboration between psychologists, economists, political scientists and neuroscientists.

“The idea is to understand the phenomenon of decision-making rather than to promote any single discipline.”

Individualized

The research is not only theoretical; it includes laboratory experiments in which the researchers are studying participants’ brain activity and physiological responses in various situations.

This can involve studying the effects of interventions such as “nudging” – gentle pushes in the right direction – to make it easier for individuals to make conscious choices. An example in real life could be to encourage people to eat more greens by having a lunch line that first passes through a salad bar.

Research provides time to think, reflect and take risks. It’s a luxurious situation but also a responsibility. A greater understanding of human behavior can help us make better decisions for the benefit of society as a whole.

To date, interventions of this kind have not been as effective as researchers once imagined. One reason may be insufficient consideration of individual differences and social context.

“People react differently to the same initiative. A change that makes me adopt a more climate-friendly diet might irritate you or leave a third person indifferent,” Västfjäll points out.

Perhaps we need to work more on individualizing behavioral changes, just as it is natural to individualize medical treatments.

“Often, a broader approach is missing – one that places the individual in a wider context. How can we go all the way from psychological mechanisms to an effective societal impact?”

Global perspective

Human emotions are a complex topic. To cover as many variations as possible, Västfjäll and his colleagues are also using megastudies. These involve numerous research groups worldwide simultaneously testing a large number of interventions in different cultures and contexts.

The idea is to study which methods work best under the influence of various factors.

“It’s a form of ‘crowd science,’ and is crucial for obtaining reliable results and advancing research.”

But Västfjäll does not want to give the impression that emotions are bad for people. On the contrary, emotions are both rational and necessary. Our emotions are often what motivate us to help another human being.

“The challenge lies in harnessing the driving force of emotions to promote behaviors that can make a real difference on a large scale as well as a small one.”

The research includes an ethical dimension. The findings may provide new guidance on how people’s behavior could be more easily manipulated for commercial purposes, for instance.

“There’s always a need for debate about ethics, and there’s always a risk that new knowledge could be misused. But the purpose of this research is genuinely the opposite – to improve our ability to achieve common goals and create greater collective benefit by understanding more about our fundamental psychological mechanisms,” Västfjäll concludes.

Text: Nils Johan Tjärnlund
Translation: Maxwell Arding
Photo: Magnus Bergström