Hot cold empathy gap

When someone is in an emotionally charged ‘hot’ state – like being hungry or being angry –  they make different decisions and they act differently than they would if they were in a calm or emotionally neutral ‘cold’ state.

Applications

• A person plans to eat a healthy dinner, but they are hungry when they go to the market. They buy junk food to snack on immediately and never end up cooking their healthy dinner.

• A person strongly believes in practicing safe sex and has a strong intention to always use a condom. But in the heat of the moment they don’t end up using a condom.