Question

Which of the following is true regarding affective forecasting?

a) We overestimate positive emotions and underestimate negative emotions
b) We overestimate negative emotions and underestimate positive emotions
c) We overestimate both positive and negative emotions
d) We underestimate both positive and negative emotions

Answer 1

Affective forecasting involves our prediction of future emotional states, and people generally overestimate both the positive and negative emotions they will experience in response to future events.

Step-by-step explanation:

Affective forecasting is a psychological concept that refers to our ability to predict our future emotional states. When it comes to affective forecasting, research, such as that conducted by Wilson and Gilbert (2003), has shown that people tend to overestimate both positive and negative emotions. This means that we often expect to feel more intense happiness or sadness in response to future events than we actually experience when the event occurs. For example, we might anticipate feeling extremely happy after buying a new car, but the actual joy we experience may be less intense or less enduring than we predicted.

Therefore, the correct answer to the question is (c) We overestimate both positive and negative emotions.