Note on (Shiv and Fedorikhin 1999) – Heart and Mind in Conflict

Main Topic or Phenomenon

This paper examines how consumer decision making is influenced by the conflict between automatically evoked positive affect and more controlled cognitive processing when consumers face choices between alternatives that differ on affective versus cognitive dimensions.

Theoretical Construct

The paper develops an Affective-Cognitive Model of Consumer Decision Making based on dual-process theories. Key constructs include:

• Lower-order affective reactions: Automatically evoked emotional responses that occur rapidly with minimal cognitive processing, arising from relatively primitive associative processes
• Higher-order cognitive processing: More deliberative, controlled processes involving appraisals, interpretations, and reasoning about consequences of choosing alternatives
• Processing resources: The cognitive capacity available to allocate to decision-making tasks
• Stimulus-induced affect: Positive affective reactions arising directly from exposure to choice alternatives (distinct from ambient mood)

The model proposes that when processing resources are constrained, decisions are primarily driven by automatic affective reactions. When resources are available, decisions are more influenced by controlled cognitive processing.

Key Findings

1. Main effect: When processing resources are limited, consumers are more likely to choose alternatives superior on the affective dimension but inferior on the cognitive dimension (chocolate cake vs. fruit salad)
2. Processing resources effect: Choice of affect-laden alternatives decreases when processing resources are high versus low, but only under certain conditions
3. Presentation mode moderation: The processing resources effect occurs only when alternatives are presented in real form, not when presented symbolically (photographs)
4. Consumer impulsivity moderation: The processing resources effect is stronger for consumers high in impulsivity compared to those low in impulsivity
5. Process evidence: Self-reported decision basis (affect vs. cognition driven) mirrors choice patterns across conditions

Boundary Conditions and Moderators

Presentation Mode: Real presentation enhances the intensity of affective reactions compared to symbolic presentation. The effect of processing resources on choice is eliminated when alternatives are presented symbolically rather than in real form.

Consumer Impulsivity: Individual differences in impulsivity moderate the processing resources effect. “Prudent” consumers (low impulsivity) have more accessible cognitions about consequences and can overcome affective reactions even under cognitive load. “Impulsive” consumers show strong processing resources effects.

Valence alignment: The model applies specifically when affect and cognitions have opposite valences (positive affect, negative cognitions). When they align, both would push toward the same choice.

Building on Previous Work

Extends dual-process theories: Applies Berkowitz’s (1993) automatic vs. controlled processing distinction and LeDoux’s neuropsychological work to consumer choice contexts.

Builds on impulse buying research: Provides empirical testing of Hoch & Loewenstein’s (1991) theoretical propositions about desire and self-control, and Rook’s (1987) impulse buying characterizations.

Advances affect research: Shifts focus from ambient mood effects to task-induced positive affect, and from higher-order emotional processes to lower-order automatic reactions.

Methodological contribution: Uses real choice with actual consumption consequences rather than hypothetical scenarios.

Major Theoretical Contribution

The paper provides the first empirical demonstration that consumer choices can be systematically influenced by automatically evoked positive affect when cognitive resources are constrained. It establishes processing resources as a key boundary condition determining when affect versus cognition drives choice, and identifies specific moderators (presentation mode, impulsivity) that qualify this relationship. The work bridges psychological dual-process theories with consumer behavior phenomena.

Major Managerial Implication

Marketers of hedonic products should create shopping environments that constrain processing resources (distracting music, displays, reduced deliberation time) to increase impulse purchases. However, the shift toward online shopping may disadvantage affect-laden products since symbolic presentation reduces affective intensity. Marketers need strategies to enhance sensory engagement in digital environments, potentially through vivid imagery or encouraging mental simulation of product consumption.

Unexplored Theoretical Factors

• Temporal factors: How time pressure, time of day, or temporal distance from consequences might influence the affect-cognition balance
• Social context: How presence of others, social norms, or social identity concerns moderate affective versus cognitive processing
• Individual differences: Personality factors beyond impulsivity (e.g., need for cognition, regulatory focus, self-control strength)
• Product characteristics: How product category involvement, familiarity, or symbolic meaning influences processing mode
• Cultural factors: How cultural values regarding emotion versus reason, or individualism versus collectivism, might moderate these effects
• Physiological states: How hunger, fatigue, stress, or arousal levels impact the relative influence of affect and cognition
• Learning effects: How repeated exposure or experience with similar trade-offs might shift processing patterns over time

Reference

Shiv, Baba and Alexander Fedorikhin (1999), “Heart and Mind in Conflict: The Interplay of Affect and Cognition in Consumer Decision Making,” Journal of Consumer Research, 26 (3), 278–92.