Adaptive Hot Cognition: How Emotion Drives Information Processing and Cognition Steers Affective Processing

Book excerpt: Influential theories have argued that affective processing is fundamentally different from cognitive processing. Others have suggested that theoretical boundaries between affective and cognitive processing are artificial and inherently problematic. Over recent years, different positions on these issues have fueled many empirical studies investigating the mechanisms underlying cognitive and affective processing. Where and on what basis should we draw the line between cognition and emotion? Are there fundamental distinctions to be made between the way emotion influences cognition and cognition influences emotion? How does the reciprocal interaction between emotion and cognition lead to adaptive behavior? This Research Topic explores the nature of the reciprocal interaction between emotion and cognition from a functional perspective.