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The influence of affect and goal priming on decision search behavior

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Abstract

The interaction between goals and affect in decision making is not well understood. We test the affective-motivational route theory (AMR: Aarts et al. 2008b) which predicts that positive affect primed along with a goal leads to goal pursuit, whereas negative affect primed along with a goal does not lead to less goal pursuit. In the current study, we test AMR using a process tracing paradigm where individuals are primed with goals (accuracy or speed) and affect (positive or negative). Participants then performed a decision search task where decision relevant information must be actively searched. Results indicate participants primed with negative affect showed search behavior consistent with the primed goals of accuracy or speed. Conversely, participants primed with positive affect showed search behavior inconsistent with the primed goals of accuracy or speed. These results are in the opposite direction of AMR but are consistent with self-regulatory theories.

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Notes

  1. Though not reported in the current results, we did analyze search direction using the SM index. The SM index (Bockenholt and Hynan 1994) is a function search direction (alternative-wise and attribute-wise transitions) standardized to correct for biases resulting in grid size. Positive values on the SM index indicate more accuracy striving (i.e., alternative-wise moves) and negative scores indicate more heuristic striving (i.e., attribute-wise moves). Results from this analysis were consistent with the time results in Table 1 with the positive affect conditions having more goal congruent scores and the opposite pattern in the negative affect conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Jason L. Harman

  2. Haykayne School of Business, The University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Justin M. Weinhardt

  3. Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA

    Claudia Gonzalez-Vallejo & Jeffrey B. Vancouver

Authors
  1. Jason L. Harman
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  2. Justin M. Weinhardt
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  3. Claudia Gonzalez-Vallejo
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  4. Jeffrey B. Vancouver
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Correspondence to Jason L. Harman.

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Appendices

Appendix 1

Priming stimuli

  • Affect words; Positive: happy, fun, enjoyment, smile, joy, laugh, party Negative: sad, depressed, hopeless, miserable, gloomy, anxiety

  • Goal words; Accuracy: accurate, exact, certainty, precision, definitiveness, correct, right Efficiency: efficient, fast, quick, brisk, rapid, swift, instant.

  • Control words; academy, banana, chicken, diplomat, earring, fluid, gene.

  • Non-words; portaaj, ujwiting, waeiv, mudment, asfral, baeneg, elecoluge, lastez, renijo, xjala, octet, bklap, ghlue, fewop, getra, neaqt, surpaq, wafga, cdas.

Appendix 2

Decision search grids

Computers

 

Price

Hard DRIVE

Operating Memory

Monitor Size

Processing Speed

Computer.com Rating

Computer A

$750

750gb

3gb

23in

2.3ghz

****

Computer B

$800

500gb

2gb

23in

2.0ghz

**

Computer C

$750

750gb

3gb

23in

2.5ghz

****

Computer D

$950

500gb

1gb

22in

2.0ghz

*

Computer E

$1000

750gb

3gb

20in

2.5ghz

***

Apartments

 

Price

Sq ft

Utilities Included

Bedrooms

Proximity to Campus

Apartments.com Rating

Apartment A

$800

700sqft

yes

1

5.0 miles

**

Apartment B

$700

750sqft

yes

1

0.2 miles

****

Apartment C

$825

650sqft

no

studio

10.0 miles

*

Apartment D

$700

750sqft

Yes

1

1.0 miles

****

Apartment E

$725

700sqft

no

1

2.5 miles

***

MP3 players

 

Price

Storage

Video

Name Brand

Sound Quality

mp3.com Rating

Mp3 A

$200

250gb

No

Yes

Medium

**

Mp3 B

$150

200gb

Yes

Yes

High

****

Mp3 C

$220

150gb

No

No

Low

*

Mp3 D

$150

250gb

Yes

Yes

High

****

Mp3 E

$180

200gb

Yes

No

High

***

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Harman, J.L., Weinhardt, J.M., Gonzalez-Vallejo, C. et al. The influence of affect and goal priming on decision search behavior. Curr Psychol 41, 5795–5802 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01048-w

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