How Emotions Derail Logic

Have you ever gone through extensive practice with a witness, just to see all the work evaporate as they “ignore” your guidance and start talking about their assumptions, giving more information than they were asked, forgetting simple facts, or start getting combative? Your witness isn’t trying to sabotage the case. Their emotions have likely triggered their survival instincts to kick in, sabotaging their own ability to give accurate, credible testimony.

The Amygdala and Pre-Frontal Cortex

 The amygdala holds our brain’s alarm system and survival instincts, while our prefrontal cortex holds our logical thoughts and planning abilities. When emotions start to get intense -- for instance the anxiety of being in a courtroom, the overwhelming feeling associated with wanting to say everything “just right,” the frustration of being asked misleading leading questions, or the fear of opposing counsel asking a “trick” question -- our cognitive abilities decline. So, the more intense our emotions get, the more we rely on instinctive behavior, and the less we can think clearly and logically. All the work you and your witness have put in so that they can give accurate and credible testimony is there in their prefrontal cortex, but their emotions are inhibiting access.

When the amygdala “hijacks” the nervous system, your client is running on their survival skills: fight, flight, freeze, and/or fawn.

• Fight might look like a client getting combative and aggressive. Maybe your client is taking offense at the questions being asked, is lashing out at opposing counsel, or is demonstrating aggressive body language.

• Flight might look like your witness getting fidgety or saying anything that comes to mind, accurate or inaccurate, to hurry the process along and get themselves out of the situation.

• Freeze might be a client who is suddenly unable to remember or verbalize simple facts of the case. Or maybe they have no words at all and are unable to answer even basic questions.

• Fawn might be a witness saying whatever they think opposing counsel wants to hear, maybe downplaying the harm they experienced or excusing a perpetrator’s behavior.

These are all instinctive responses that the brain uses when it thinks we are in danger. The amygdala cares only about the immediate “threat,” not future consequences. The amygdala cannot differentiate between a lion about to attack and an intimidating lawyer asking questions. Either way, it is expecting a fight for survival and will choose whatever path feels the safest and fastest.

The prefrontal cortex is locked down during all of this. When a lion is about to pounce, you don’t have time to be weighing various escape routes or distraction tactics. You need to respond on instinct because there is no time to waste. While there’s no actual danger in the courtroom, when emotions get intense, the amygdala reacts as if the danger is real and immediate. But by learning to regulate our emotions, the amygdala understands that we are not in danger, allowing the  prefrontal cortex to come back online.

The Role of Emotional Regulation

Sometimes emotions are inaccurate representations of a situation or can become more intense than the situation warrants. To protect against those inaccurate representations, it’s helpful to be able to regulate, or manage, those feelings. When emotions become so intense that you can no longer think clearly  (‘amygdala hijacking’) or make intentional decisions in safe situations, those natural instincts that helped us survive in the wild become unhelpful.

Emotional regulation does not mean that you are getting rid of the emotions or controlling them. It means you are reducing their intensity, so they can be felt in tandem with the use of logic (the prefrontal cortex). As our emotions become regulated, our prefrontal cortex is able to take the lead and your witness will be able to present their evidence clearly and effectively.

Further Reading

• Amygdala Hijack: How It Works Signs, & How to Cope: https://www.simplypsychology.org/amygdala-hijack.html

• What Do Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Fawn Trauma Responses Mean?: https://www.health.com/fight-flight-freeze-fawn-8348342

• The Body’s Silent Alarm: 7 Major Physical Symptoms of a Dysregulated Nervous System: https://dreugenelipov.com/2026/01/01/dysregulated-nervous-system-symptoms/

• Fowler, Dr. Clare. “Is Conflict Affecting Your RAM and REM? How Stress Disrupts Executive Function and Sleep in Disputants.” American Arbitration Association, 9 Mar. 2026. Lexology.com, 2026. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.