The ambivalent mind can be a wise mind: Emotional ambivalence increases judgment accuracy

This article provides evidence that emotional ambivalence, the simultaneous experience of positive and negative emotions, improves judgment accuracy. Two experiments demonstrate that individuals experiencing emotional ambivalence are more accurate in weather temperature forecasts (Experiment 1) and estimation tasks (Experiment 2) than are those experiencing happiness or sadness. Experiment 3a provides suggestive evidence that emotional ambivalence increases individuals' receptivity to alternative perspectives. Experiment 3b provides evidence for the full model: ambivalence increases estimation accuracy by increasing receptivity to alternative perspectives. The experience of ambivalence may be an important tool for encouraging greater receptivity to and consideration of alternative perspectives, and thus greater accuracy in judgments. (c) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.