How Happiness Affects Choice
Name
Kamvar_How Happiness.pdf
Size
391.1 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
781494b6f8f41873b93103f13e7aa9d4
Author(s)
Mogilner, Cassie
Aaker, Jennifer
Kamvar, Sep
Date Issued
December 2011
Journal
Journal of Consumer Research
Publisher
University of Chicago Press, The
Citation
Mogilner, Cassie, Jennifer Aaker, and Sepandar D. Kamvar. “How Happiness Affects Choice.” Journal of Consumer Research 39, no. 2 (August 2012): 429-443. © 2011 Journal of Consumer Research, Inc.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Consumers want to be happy, and marketers are increasingly trying to appeal to consumers’ pursuit of happiness. However, the results of six studies reveal that what happiness means varies, and consumers’ choices reflect those differences. In some cases, happiness is defined as feeling excited, and in other cases, happiness is defined as feeling calm. The type of happiness pursued is determined by one’s temporal focus, such that individuals tend to choose more exciting options when focused on the future, and more calming options when focused on the present moment. These results suggest that the definition of happiness, and consumers’ resulting choices, are dynamic and malleable.
MIT Department
Program in Media Arts and Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Terms of Use
Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1086/663774
