The Role of Arousal in Congruity-Based Product Evaluation

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 state of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of consumer research 2014-12, Vol.41 (4), p.1108-1126
Main Authors: Noseworthy, Theodore J., Di Muro, Fabrizio, Murray, Kyle B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Brand preferences
Curiosity
Emotional expression
Emotional states
Emotions
Expectations
Heart rate
Personality traits
Physiological responses
Physiological stimulation
Physiology
Product choice
Questionnaires
Soft drinks
Studies
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Summary: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 state of arousal. Specifically, low arousal decreases preference for moderate incongruity while increasing preference for extreme incongruity, whereas high arousal decreases preference for any form of incongruity. Underlying these effects are discrete emotional states brought on by a physiological response to incongruity. Varying arousal subsequently varies the severity of the emotion, be it negative (anxiety) or positive (curiosity), which in turn varies evaluations for the product. This suggests that creating excitement around a product launch may be good for incremental innovation, but it may not be a good idea for something truly innovative.
ISSN:0093-5301
1537-5277
DOI:10.1086/678301