There are three important implications of this line of reasoning for the current proposal. First, emotion's facilitation of a focus on the immediate has a fundamentally adaptive basis: one is oriented to meet one's needs, whether with respect to avoiding immediate threats or pursuing immediately available opportunities. But the second implication is that when one is experiencing emotions very intensely, the loss of available cognitive resources and the interference with rational decision making increases the likelihood that one's actions will be ill-advised or rash. As a result, the likelihood of ill-considered, risky behavior is increased. The third implication is that acts in response to the immediate are likely to be reinforcing, whether involving negative reinforcement such as reduction of, or distraction from, distress (Heatherton & Baumeister, 1991) or positive reinforcement such as gratification of an urge. Even if such behaviors are associated with risk, or are inconsistent with one's long-term interests, they provide immediate reinforcement.
