Heart and mind in conflict: The interplay of affect and cognition in consumer decision making

This article examines how consumer decision making is influenced by automat ically evoked task-induced affect and by cognitions that are generated in a more controlled manner on exposure to alternatives in a choice task. Acros s two experiments respondents chose between two alternatives: one (chocolat e cake) associated with more intense positive affect but less favorable cog nitions, compared to a second (fruit salad) associated with less favorable affect but more favorable cognitions. Findings from the two experiments sug gest that if processing resources are limited, spontaneously evoked affecti ve reactions rather than cognitions tend to have a greater impact on choice . As a result, the consumer is more likely to choose the alternative that I s superior on the affective dimension but inferior on the cognitive dimensi on (e.g., chocolate cake), in contrast, when the availability of processing resources is high, cognitions related to the consequences of choosing the alternatives tend to have a bigger impact on choice compared to when the av ailability of these resources is low. As a result. the consumer is more lik ely to choose the alternative that is inferior on the affective dimension b ut superior on the cognitive dimension (e.g., fruit salad). The moderating roles of the mode of presentation of the alternatives and of a personality variable related to impulsivity are also reported.