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The effect of incidental affect on preference for the status quo

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Abstract

The authors report results from four experiments that describe the influence of incidental affect on preference for the status quo. The first and second experiments, each using different affect induction methods, demonstrated that positive affect increased and negative affect reduced the choice of the status quo alternative. The third experiment replicated the effect of incidental affect on a separate dimension of status quo bias, the preference of omission. The last experiment investigated whether preference for the status quo was affected by four specific emotions that differed along valence and certainty appraisal dimensions. Compared with affective states associated with uncertainty, affective states associated with certainty led to a greater magnitude of status quo bias. The certainty appraisals mediated the effect of specific emotions on preference for the status quo, regardless of the emotion valence. The findings extend our knowledge by showing that incidental affect can influence consumer choice through emotion-related appraisals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Information Management, National Central University, 300, Jhongda Rd., Jhongli, Taiwan

    HsiuJu Rebecca Yen

  2. Department of Business Administration, National Chung Cheng University, 168, University Rd., Min-Hsiung, Chia-Yi, Taiwan

    Shih-Chieh Chuang

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  1. HsiuJu Rebecca Yen
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Correspondence to Shih-Chieh Chuang.

Appendix

Appendix

Product category scenarios

Apartment

“Imagine that you have been renting a one-bedroom apartment (Current Apartment). Your current lease is up and you have the chance to stay in your current apartment or move to a different apartment (New Apartment). What will you do?”

Table 6 Apartment
Full size table

Health club

“Imagine that you have been attending a health club (Current Club). Your membership will expire in one week and you have the chance to stay at your current club or go to a different club (New Club). What will you do?”

Table 7 Health club
Full size table

Vacation hotel

“You are planning a weekend break in the country with some old friends. You have spent many happy, relaxing weekends in a favorite hotel, the Manor, which has always provided you with excellent hospitality and the personal touch. You hear of another hotel in the same area (the Grange) which appears to offer a slightly higher standard of accommodation, meals, and so forth. You wonder which hotel you should book. What will you do?”

Table 8 Vacation hotel
Full size table

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Yen, H.R., Chuang, SC. The effect of incidental affect on preference for the status quo. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 36, 522–537 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-008-0084-2

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