New York, Jan 27: Does mood really influence our
choices? Well, it does, if researchers are to be believed.
The researchers have found that consumers in a good
mood are more likely than the unhappy customers to choose the
first item they see, especially if all the choices are more
or less the same.
According to lead researcher Cheng Qiu of University
of Hong Kong, "it is surprising that little research has been
done to examine how affect influences comparisons and choices.
"Our research fills this gap by demonstrating a
systematic influence of mood on choice, which contrasts with
the general assumption that mood is unlikely to influence
choice."
In fact, the researchers came to the conclusion after
analysing the effects of mood on choices of a number of people
by carrying out two related studies.
In the first study, all the participants were first
asked to write about either a happy or a sad event in their
lives to help establish their mood and then they were given
several Mango-flavoured desserts.
The team found that 69% of happy participants
chose the first option they saw, compared to only 38.5%
of unhappy participants. They also noticed that when
happy consumers were asked to withhold judgement until all
options were presented, they tended to prefer the last option.
In another study, 3 dessert options -- Blueberry,
Almond, and Plum pie -- were presented sequentially, and the
consumers were explicitly asked to withhold judgement until
all options had been presented.
Happy consumers chose the last item 48% of the
time, compared to just 26% of unhappy participants.
"If consumers are exposed to multiple options that
differ only in global aesthetic aspects, they tend to evaluate
each option spontaneously at the time they first encounter it.”
On the other hand, if consumers are exposed to
multiple options that differ in important descriptive
features, they may withhold their evaluation until they have
seen all the options available and evaluate the last presented
option first.
Altogether, these findings suggest that the influence
of mood on comparison depends on which alternative in a choice
set is the one being evaluated first," said Qiu.
Bureau Report
