Evidence for the role of affective states in social judgments is reviewed, and a new integrative theory, the affect infusion model (AIM), is proposed as a comprehensive explanation of these effects. The AIM, based on a multiprocess approach to social judgments, identifies 4 alternative judgmental strategies: (a) direct access, (b) motivated, (c) heuristic, and (d) substantive processing. The model predicts that the degree of affect infusion into judgments varies along a processing continuum, such that judgments requiring heuristic or substantive processing are more likely to be infused by affect than are direct access or motivated judgments. The role of target, judge, and situational variables in recruiting high- or low-infusionjudgmental strategies is considered, and empirical support for the model is reviewed. The relationship between the AIM and other affect-cognitiontheories is discussed, and implications for future research are outlined.

How does affect come to influence our thinking and judgments? Although this question has fascinated laypeople and philosophers since time immemorial, the scientific study of the phenomenon is a fairly recent development, with most work done during the last 10 years or so. At present, the mechanisms linking affect to thinking and...