CAT4 Practice Exam 2026 – Complete Exam Prep Guide

The correct answer is that people tend to overestimate future feelings following a decision. When making choices, individuals often anticipate how they will feel after that decision, overestimating both the intensity and duration of these future emotional states. This phenomenon, known as "affective forecasting," can lead people to believe they will experience significantly stronger positive or negative emotions than they actually do.

This tendency to overrate future feelings can impact decision making, as it might lead someone to choose or avoid certain options based on an exaggerated expectation of the emotional outcome. For instance, a person may decide against a particular job offer because they expect to feel unhappy in that role, even if the actual experience might not align with that forecast.

The other options, while relevant to emotional responses, do not capture this specific cognitive bias related to decision-making. Neutral feelings do not generally provoke strong expectations, and while positive and negative feelings are certainly significant, it's the prediction about the future emotional impact of a decision that is often overestimated.