1 . In recent decades, it has become clear that consumers’ decision-making process is influenced by their emotions. Traditionally, people have been asked how they feel about products and services, but since individuals are often unaware of their own emotions, their responses may not accurately reflect reality.

Consumer neuroscience investigations have helped create a deeper understanding of the role of emotions in consumer-related choices. Emotions can be broadly categorized as positive or negative; examples of positive emotions include love, pride, and happiness, while negative emotions include anger, disgust, and fear. Both types of emotions cause physiological responses.

Distinguishing between different types of emotions is more important than classifying them as positive or negative. When sad, consumers tend to be willing to pay more for goods and are drawn towards high-risk, high-reward options. For instance, an environmentalist shopping at a supermarket might focus on getting one item for free in a two-for-one offer rather than thinking they don’t need two identical products.

Anxiety can reduce the likelihood of making risky choices and make individuals careless about rewards, similar to the effect of some positive emotions. Negative moods like fear and anger also influence risk-related decision-making differently: anger leads to more optimistic assessments, while fear results in more pessimistic risk assessments. Stress is perhaps the most problematic emotion for consumers when it comes to risk-seeking. It’s common for consumers to rush into decisions between work or social activities, feeling pressured to make quick choices. This stress can increase risk-seeking behavior, leading to regrettable decisions.

Purchases often involve making predictions about how we may feel when we have bought something. For example, will buying a new hat make me feel good? Unfortunately, consumers are not good at predicting how they will feel in the future. This means that people often purchase something on the basis that they think it will make them happy. However, as it is common to overestimate the future emotions of happiness linked to products, consumers often feel disappointed with the item as it does not live up to their emotional expectations.

5 . The teenage years are a transformative period marked by great physical, psychological, and emotional changes.     1     They refer to the feelings that arise during interactions with others, such as gratitude, shame, sympathy, guilt, and pride.

Understanding and managing social emotions can help develop teenagers’ identities. Teenagers experience a wide range of emotions from social interactions, which significantly influences their self-understanding and social awareness. In the process, they learn to understand, and appropriately respond to both their own emotions and those of others.     2    

In academic settings, social emotional competencies like self-regulation, motivation, and social awareness directly impact a teenager’s ability to learn, participate, and engage in school activities.     3     Teenagers with strong social emotional skills are better equipped to handle stress, resist peer pressure, and avoid risky behaviors, reducing the likelihood of developing mental health issues.

Learning social emotions involves a combination of personal experience, guidance, and formal education.     4     This environment influences teenagers’ earliest understanding of how to communicate and manage their emotions. They feel safe and supportive to express their emotions freely and learn to manage them without fear of judgment. Schools also play a significant role through social emotional learning programs that teach these skills in a structured environment. Community involvement, extracurricular activities, and peer (同伴) interactions offer additional opportunities for teenagers to practice and refine their social emotional skills.

    5     It contributes to a teenager’s ability to manage their own emotions, understand others’ emotions, and face social complexities. This learning is a cornerstone for shaping their identity, influencing their interpersonal relationships, academic success, mental health, and future life outcomes.

7 . Being overly emotional may mean reacting to negative feelings quickly instead of letting your intelligence weigh in. Chances are that you are relating to your emotions in a way that isn’t always constructive if you feel overly emotional.     1     Here are approaches to make it.

Identify your emotions. It’s important to know what you feel so that you can address each emotion appropriately.     2     If you feel anger, for instance, you may start to notice your breathing quickening, your muscles tensing, or your skin feeling flushed. If you’re happy, you may notice smiling or feelings of lightness in your limbs.

Interpret each emotion’s message.     3     For instance, you may feel anxiety as a way to express fear of something. Emotions can set off emotional or physical perceived stressors that we choose to move toward or away from. When your emotions come up, ask them what they are conveying to you.

Increase your empathy (共情). Empathy means observing your emotions less but the emotions of those around you more. If you find yourself focusing largely on your own emotions, take a step back and notice the emotions of the people around you.     4     Increasing your empathy helps you relate to people more effectively, respect their emotional experience, and take the spotlight off of yourself.

    5     Sometimes it’s difficult to relate to your emotions positively or cannot find ways to control your emotions. A therapist (治疗师) can help you process your difficult emotions while also providing an opportunity for you to release your emotions in a positive and constructive way. Your therapist should be someone you can trust and with whom you are comfortable sharing personal or embarrassing things.

10 . Whether you’re eating a slice of delicious bread or an extra-chewy chocolate cookie, it’s always fun to be the taste tester for a friend or relative who loves to bake. And, while eating products created with love and sugar probably makes you feel good, the baker is obtaining some psychological benefits, too.

Studies have shown that creative activities like baking contribute to an overall sense of well-being. Boston University professor of brain sciences Donna Pincus explained that there’s “stress relief that people get from having some kind of an outlet (发泄方式) and a way to express themselves”.

Baking is also a great way to practice mindfulness, because it requires you to focus on following very straightforward directions in a specific order. In other words, most of the decisions have already been made for you, allowing you to concentrate on the details while nudging (轻推) your mind away from the stressors and anxieties of your life outside the kitchen. Julie Ohana, a clinical social worker, explained that baking is effective because it helps you practice the “balance of the moment and the bigger picture”. While you’re measuring and mixing ingredients, you’re probably visualizing how they’ll all come together to create a fulfilling final product and deciding how and when you’ll share it with others.

Sharing your desserts selflessly rather than for attention or competition is another mood-booster, making you “feel like you’ve done something good for the world, which perhaps increases your meaning in life and connection with other people,” Pincus said. It can also function as a mode of communication. Susan Whitbourne, professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Massachusetts, said that “it can be helpful for people who have difficulty expressing their feelings in words to show appreciation, or sympathy with baked goods”.

Baking may not be the be-all and end-all of the cure for mental illness, but anyone in need of lifted spirits should consider pulling out the flour and warming up the oven.