Effect of emotions on cognitive processes: are proficient decision-makers inoculated against the influence of affective states?

Several studies in the last two decades has shed light on the effect of emotions on cognitive processes such as DM, information processing, preferences and risk attitude; on the contrary, research on naturalistic decision making has so far been virtually silent on the issue of emotions (Mosier & Fischer, 2009). The idea that proficient decision-makers are inoculated against the influence of emotions does not consider that emotions affect the decisions made by experts in a more complex way. In fact, information processing in dynamic environments may be affected by emotions in many ways, i.e., in the amount or quality of information that is researched or in the level/orientation of attention. Thus, the aim of the present research is to investigate how affect states and environmental cues processing influence performance of a well trained category of workers, police officers, in a task relevant to their activities, such as the ability to detect armed targets.