Two Birds, One Stone? Positive Mood Makes Products Seem Less Useful for Multiple-Goal Pursuit
25 Pages Posted: 16 Jul 2014 Last revised: 1 Nov 2014
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Two Birds, One Stone? Positive Mood Makes Products Seem Less Useful for Multiple-Goal Pursuit
Date Written: July 14, 2014
Abstract
Negotiating the pursuit of multiple goals often requires making difficult trade-offs between goals. In these situations, consumers can benefit from using products that help them pursue several goals at the same time. But do consumers always prefer these multipurpose products? We propose that consumers’ incidental mood state alters perceptions of products in a multiple-goals context. Four studies demonstrate that being in a positive mood amplifies perceptions of differences between multiple conflicting goals. As a consequence, consumers are less likely to evaluate multipurpose products as being able to serve multiple distinct goals simultaneously. We conclude by discussing implications of these findings for marketers of multipurpose products.
Keywords: motivation, mood, goal pursuit
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