Do Pleasantness and Goal Related Appraisals Work in Concert to Drive Emotions? Evidence From Two Empirical Studies

The most significant driver of consumption emotions is whether the stimulus causing the emotion is deemed to be good or bad. Some theorists argue that this good/bad appraisal is related to personal goals, while others believe that it is driven by intrinsic pleasantness. This paper explores this controversy and offers empirical evidence that pleasantness and goal relatedness both significantly affect emotions. Importantly, these two appraisal dimensions are shown to influence emotions of the same valence differently, affording marketers a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of positive and negative emotions.

Citation:

Lisa Watson and Mark T. Spence (2006) ,"Do Pleasantness and Goal Related Appraisals Work in Concert to Drive Emotions? Evidence From Two Empirical Studies", in AP - Asia-Pacific Advances in Consumer Research Volume 7, eds. Margaret Craig Lees, Teresa Davis, and Gary Gregory, Sydney, Australia : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 343-349.