Thus, the experience of intense emotions may lead one to focus more heavily on one's immediate situation. At times, such as in the examples just given, a focus on the immediate can be fruitful and adaptive. However, there are also times in which an emotion-driven focus on the immediate may not be adaptive, and may in fact be ill-advised or even rash. A focus on one's current anger at one's boss, or one's sense of sexual attraction to a colleague can, in the absence of a co-occurring focus on one's long-term interests and goals, increase the likelihood of rash acts. And, intense emotions do tend to interfere with rational, advantageous decision making (Bechara, 2004, 2005; Dolan, 2007; Driesbach, 2006; Shiv, Loewenstein, & Bechara, 2005), sometimes leading to a reduced focus on one's long-term interests and an increased focus on the immediate (Davidson, 2003).
