Visceral Influences

Definition

Visceral factors are states such as hunger, thirst, sexual desire, drug cravings, physical pain, and fervent emotion that influence how much goods and actions are valued. When experiencing a visceral state, people focus primarily on goals associated with their current state and downplay the importance of other goals. For example, when a person is thirsty, finding water becomes the most important goal and other goals tend to be overlooked. Although visceral factors can have a powerful influence on behavior, people fail to recognize this influence. That is, they don't anticipate the influence that visceral factors will have on their future behavior, remember the influence that visceral factors have had on past behavior, or recognize the influence that visceral factors have on other people. People may ...