Do mind and body agree? Unconscious versus conscious arousal in product attitude formation

• Published in: Journal of business research Vol. 75; pp. 108 - 117
• Main Authors: Bettiga, Debora, Lamberti, Lucio, Noci, Giuliano
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.06.2017
• Subjects: Attitude; Electrodermal activity; Emotion; Product trial; Unconscious arousal; Electrodermal activity; Emotion; Unconscious arousal; Attitude; Product trial
• ISSN: 0148-2963; 1873-7978
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.02.008

Marketing research addressing the role of arousal in attitude formation and change mostly looks at arousal as a merely conscious emotion. However, a substantial body of research, in cognitive psychology and neuroscience, now offers insights on the implicit, subliminal reactions of individuals to external stimuli, sustaining that unconscious emotions may drive to different attitudinal responses. Following a conceptualization of conscious and unconscious arousal and its influence on product attitude formation, this study provides empirical evidence of the hypothesised relationships through a laboratory experiment on 160 subjects. By employing electrodermal activity, a physiological measure, to assess unconscious arousal and self-reported scales to assess conscious arousal, the study reveals that conscious and unconscious arousal are two independent emotional responses and they influence attitude toward the product differently. The study extends theory on emotions and provides an initial step toward using physiological measures to evaluate consumer emotional response to new products. •Unconscious arousal and conscious arousal are distinct emotional responses•Unconscious arousal and conscious arousal influence attitude toward a product•Arousal and attitudinal responses vary between direct and virtual product trials•Arousal and attitudinal responses do not vary between functional and hedonic products