This research sheds insight on the psychological impact of mixed emotions on attitudes. In three experiments, we show that persuasion appeals that highlight conflicting emotions (e.g., both happiness and sadness) lead to less favorable attitudes for individuals with a lower propensity to accept...

In four experiments, we show that goals associated with approach and avoidance needs influence persuasion and that the accessibility of distinct self-views moderates these effects. Specifically, individuals with an accessible independent self-view are more persuaded by promotion-focused...

This research examines the persuasive effect of emotional appeals on members of collectivist versus individualist cultures. The results of two experiments demonstrate that ego-focused (e.g., pride, happiness) versus other-focused (e.g., empathy, peacefulness) emotional appeals lead to more...

This research explores the extent to which differences in perceived diagnosticity as compared with differences in the accessibility of associations embedded in persuasion appeals better account for the attitudinal differences found in the culture and persuasion literature. Experiment 1...

We examined the consequences of regulatory focus on exposure to two types of comparative advertising frames-a maximal claim ("brand A is superior to brand B") and a minimal claim ("brand A is equivalent or similar to brand B")-in three experiments. In experiment 1, we manipulated these frames,...

Existing theorizing suggests that consumers should experience more intense affective reactions when a positive outcome is missed (short temporal distance) than when its occurrence is relatively remote (long temporal distance). Two studies are reported that explore why and when these effects...

In this research, we examine the conditions under which outcomes bias judgments, and we provide insights on the processes underlying such bias effects. A series of three studies identified motivated reasoning as a major determinant of when outcomes would bias judgments. The processes underlying...

We show how motivation affects reasoning through reliance on a biased set of cognitive processes. We manipulate the level of brand preference experimentally and expose subjects to a message that is either consistent or inconsistent with their manipulated preference. Further, the message contains...

Information processing research published in the Journal of Consumer Research has produced theoretical advances in our understanding of consumer behavior. This article highlights two themes that have emerged in consumer research over the past 15 years. These are the interplay between motivation...

This research examined the efficacy of one type of communication strategy, comparative advertising, in communicating product superiority to consumers across different cultures. In individualist cultures such as the United States, comparative advertising that highlights the superiority of the...