Making Independent Decisions Together : Rational Emotions in Legal Adjudication

This article analyzes rational decision-making in court as an emotivecognitiveprocess formed in and through social interaction. Currenttheoretical perspectives have shown how emotion and thought areintertwined in the workings of the human brain but have seldom elaboratedon the contextual and structural features of rational-emotionaldecision-making. I propose a model that maps emotional processesand emotional management demands to the temporally extended,stepwise process of rational-legal decision-making. I show that (a) thebounded structure of the decision-making process actualizes differentemotive-cognitive complexes at different stages and (b) the demand forobjectivity in rational decision-making calls for parallel emotional processesand subject positions to remain independent while sustainingsocial cohesion