The Disgust Emotion in Consumer Behavior

ABSTRACT - This research examines an emotion that consumer researchers mostly have neglected. In particular, we explore the role of disgust in the context of fast-food restaurant advertising. In two parallel studies we learn that TV commercials portraying raw meat in context of finished sandwiches generate greater levels of felt disgust, and, in turn, that this disgust mediates the effect of advertising content on attitudes toward the ad and on intentions to patronize the advertised restaurant. Implications for the role of disgust go beyond the food domain and include sociomoral forms of this negative emotion.

Citation:

Terence A. Shimp and Elnora W. Stuart (2003) ,"The Disgust Emotion in Consumer Behavior", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 6, eds. Darach Turley and Stephen Brown, Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 109.

European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 6, 2003      Page 109

THE DISGUST EMOTION IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Terence A. Shimp, University of South Carolina, USA

Elnora W. Stuart, American University of Egypt, USA

ABSTRACT -

This research examines an emotion that consumer researchers mostly have neglected. In particular, we explore the role of disgust in the context of fast-food restaurant advertising. In two parallel studies we learn that TV commercials portraying raw meat in context of finished sandwiches generate greater levels of felt disgust, and, in turn, that this disgust mediates the effect of advertising content on attitudes toward the ad and on intentions to patronize the advertised restaurant. Implications for the role of disgust go beyond the food domain and include sociomoral forms of this negative emotion.

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