Exploring the effect of emotions on logical reasoning in Indian adolescents

Abstract

Emotion and logical reasoning are closely interlinked and are found to influence each other. Adolescence happens to be a time, where emotions are evidenced to impact strongly the rational logical reasoning process. This research is an attempt to explore this phenomenon in the adolescent individuals living in Delhi-NCR. The approach to examine this relationship is by exploring the impact of influence on the emotional state of adolescents and its impact on their performance of logical reasoning tasks. For this study, we employed the use of Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) for measuring the emotional state of the participants. Post this initial test the participants were required to attempt an IQ test, to which manipulated feedback was provided, followed by another administration of PANAS questionnaire. Then an administration of logical reasoning task was asked to be performed, to which their performance was noted. It is hypothesized that; the current mood state will not play any role in performance on the logical reasoning task. Such a study is unique as the relationship has not been closely explored in Indian Context. The findings have important implications for educators and practitioners in building interventions and understanding the dynamic interplay of emotions and reasoning in contextual setting