A conceptual framework is presented that depicts both the mediating role of mood states and their potential importance in consumer behavior. Reviewing findings from the psychological literature indicates that mood states have direct and indirect effects on behavior, evaluation, and recall. The scope and limitations of these effects are addressed, and the implications for consumer behavior in three areas-service encounters, point-of-purchase stimuli, and communications (context and content)-are examined. Finally, the potential feasibility and viability of mood-related approaches to marketing research and practice are discussed.

This paper presents a stated preference study of electric vehicle choice using data from a national survey. We used a choice experiment wherein 3029 respondents were asked to chose between their preferred gasoline vehicle and two electric versions of that preferred vehicle. We estimated a latent class random utility model and used the results to estimate the willingness to pay for five electric vehicle attributes: driving range, charging time, fuel cost saving, pollution reduction, and performance. Driving range, fuel cost savings, and charging time led in importance to respondents. Individuals were willing to pay (wtp) from $35 to $75 for a mile of added driving range, with incremental wtp per mile decreasing at higher distances. They were willing to pay from $425 to $3250 per hour reduction in charging time (for a 50 mile charge). Respondents capitalized about 5 years of fuel saving into the purchase price of an electric vehicle. We simulated our model over a range of electric vehicle configurations and found that people with the highest values for electric vehicles were willing to pay a premium above their wtp for a gasoline vehicle that ranged from $6,000 to $16,000 for electric vehicles with the most desirable attributes. At the same time, our results suggest that battery cost must drop significantly before electric vehicles will find a mass market without subsidy.

The results of an experiment examining the use of attitude toward the ad and brand-related beliefs in brand attitude formation under two different processing “sets”—brand evaluation and nonbrand evaluation—are reported. Findings suggest that attitude toward the advertisement affects attitude toward the advertised brand as much under a brand evaluation set as under a nonbrand evaluation set.

How do moods influence one's preference for foods? By introducing the role of enjoyment‐ versus health‐oriented benefits of foods in the mood and food consumption relationship, this research informs both temporal construal theory and mood management framework by positing that mood influences the choice between healthy versus indulgent foods through its impact on temporal construal, which alters the weights people put on long‐term health benefits versus short‐term mood management benefits when making choices. The results from four experiments show that a positive mood cues distal, abstract construal and increases the salience of long‐term goals such as health, leading to greater preference for healthy foods over indulgent foods. The results also show that a negative mood cues proximal construal and increases the salience of immediate, concrete goals such as mood management, leading to greater preference for indulgent foods over healthy foods.

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