Abstract

Results from six experiments suggest that the reliance on feelings in judgment may involve a metacognitive assessment of whether one's feelings should be used in the judgment. The influence of integral (target-induced) and incidental (mood-induced) affect on judgment was found to depend on the momentary trust that participants had in their feelings. This trust moderated the influence of affect when cognitive resources were available, but not when resources were reduced. It is proposed that the reliance on feelings in judgment operates under two different modes: a reflective mode that involves a metacognitive assessment of the diagnosticity of the feelings when resources are available, and a non-reflective mode that is insensitive to the diagnosticity of the feelings when resources are unavailable.