If said student acts on their insecurity about failing the test, they might make the assumption that they misunderstand the material and therefore may guess answers randomly, causing their own failure in a self-fulfilling prophecy.
[3] Emotional reasoning is related to other similar concepts, such as: motivated reasoning, a type of reasoning wherein individuals reach conclusions from bias instead of empirical motivations;[4] emotional intelligence, which relates to the ways in which individuals use their emotions to understand situations or the information and reach conclusions;[5] and cognitive distortion or cognitive deficiency, wherein individuals misinterpret situations or make decisions without considering a range of consequences.
[8] Emotional reasoning had been attributed to automatic thinking, but Beck believed that it stemmed from negative thoughts that were uncontrollable and happened without effort.
Most recently, a new explanation states that an "activating agent" or sensory trigger from the environment increases emotional arousal.
[10] Before seeking professional help, an individual can influence the effect that emotional reasoning has on them based on his or her coping method.
[13] If an individual chooses to seek professional help, a psychologist will often use cognitive-behavioural therapy to teach the patient how to challenge their cognitive distortions, including emotional reasoning.
[7] Cognitive behavioural therapy has been generally regarded as the most-effective method of treatment for emotional reasoning.
[14] RIGAAR is an abbreviation for: rapport building, information gathering, goal setting, accessing resources, agreeing strategies and rehearsing success.
For example, if individuals have a schema about how intelligent they are, failure-related recollections have a high chance to be retained in their minds and they become likely to recall positive past events.
[15] Techniques for reducing emotional reasoning include: Negative memories and stressful life circumstances have a chance to trigger depression.
Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) is a form of psychotherapy which can help people find a positive perspective of their emotional process.
[20] The treatment of cognitive-behavioral therapy is through the process of learning and making the change for maladaptive emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.
How one feels when assessing an object, person or event, can be an instinctual survival response and a way to adapt to the world.