### abstract ###
a four-fold classification of emotions with respect to their functions in decision making is proposed
it is argued that emotions are not homogenous concerning their role in decision making  but that four distinct functions can be distinguished concerning emotional phenomena
one function is to provide information about pleasure and pain for preference construction  a second function is to enable rapid choices under time pressure  a third function is to focus attention on relevant aspects of a decision problem  and a fourth function is to generate commitment concerning morally and socially significant decisions
the pertinent literature on the relationship between emotion and decision making is reviewed  and it is concluded that most approaches fit into the proposed framework
we argue that a precise conceptualization of emotional phenomena is required to advance our understanding of the complex role of emotions in decision making
### introduction ###
in this paper  we address the question of how to conceptualize emotions concerning their role in decision making
the study of emotions in the context of decision making  beginning more than twenty years ago  CITATION   has received increasing attention over the past decade  CITATION
there is  however  little consensus in the literature on what is actually meant by emotion or affect
this paper tries to contribute to a more precise and useful conceptualization of emotion concerning the emotion-decision making relationship
first  we briefly sketch two approaches with a similar objective  the classification of emotions by loewenstein and lerner  CITATION   and the functional typology proposed by peters  CITATION
we will then discuss some common assumptions about emotions which we believe have confused the understanding of the role of emotion in decision making
in particular  we argue that emotions should not be construed as a homogenous category  that the positive-negative valence dimension is not the most important aspect of emotions in decision making  and that emotions do not imply irrationality
we argue that it is more useful to think of emotional phenomena as implementing specific mechanisms to account for different functions that arise in decision making
four functions are proposed which are conceptually independent  though empirically correlated
