Three experiments show that semantic primes can enhance perceptual fluency, resulting in higher liking of the perceived product. Specifically, semantic primes that cue the visual identifier of one of two products (e.g., a bottle of wine with a frog shown on the label) increase preference of the...

In a series of studies we examine how incidental mood present at the time of an experience affects judgments made long after the mood has dissipated and compare this to lay beliefs about how mood affects memory-based judgments. We find that memory-based judgments are affected by incidental mood...

Companies typically use clear fonts and bright pictures in their ads, Web sites, and product-package designs; place their products on easy-to-reach shelves; and emphasize ease-of-usage to make their products appear desirable to consumers. However, we suggest that customers focused on...

We propose that a positive mood, by signaling that a situation is benign, might allow people to step back and take in the big picture. As a consequence, a positive mood might increase abstract construal and the adoption of abstract, future goals. In contrast, a negative mood, by signaling not...

Two experiments suggest that when participants evaluate an ad, they prefer improving ad emotions, because attitudes are based on an assessment of whether the emotions deviate positively or negatively from previous levels of emotions. In contrast, when emotions are experienced, positive emotions...

Across six studies, we demonstrate that consumers have beliefs pertaining to the transience of emotion, which, along with their current feelings, determine the extent to which they regulate their immediate affect. If consumers believe that emotion is fleeting, those feeling happy (vs. unhappy)...

Across five studies, we show that firming one's muscles can help firm willpower and that firmed willpower mediates one's ability to withstand immediate pain, overcome food temptation, consume unpleasant medicines, and attend to immediately disturbing but essential information, provided that...

Do our bodies control our minds? That people approach positive outcomes is not surprising, but do people also infer an outcome is rewarding from their bodily sensation of approaching it, and does this positivity transfer indirectly to other outcomes linked in memory to the original negative...

This article examines the effect of goal fulfillment on choices made in the context of an ongoing sequence of experiences. We find that a good first experience produces an upward shift in the target level of goal achievement. When a higher level of goal attainment is offered by a risky option,...

Consumer choices are often driven by multiple goals (e.g., career and family), each of which if viewed in isolation may appear to suggest conflicting choices. This article examines the effect of initial goal pursuit on consumers' interest in pursuing unrelated or even conflicting goals. Four...