New products are often incongruent with consumer expectations. Researchers have shown that consumers prefer moderately incongruent products, while being adverse to extremely incongruent products. Evidence from three studies suggests that this phenomenon is highly influenced by a consumer’s...

This article examines how consumers’ preferences are affected by the interplay between their level of arousal and the valence of their current affective state. Building on prior research examining the regulation of mood valence, the authors propose that consumers are also motivated to manage...