HowConsumers'EmotionalResponsesGuideDecisionMakingBeingawareofyouremotionscanpreventyoufrommakingbaddecisions.KEYPOINTSDifferenttypesofmoodsaffecttheconsumerchoicespeoplemake.Howmuchconsumersarewillingtopayandtheriskstheytakeareinfluencedbyemotions,suchasanxiety.Beingawareofemotionalinfluencescanhelpyoumakebetterdecisions.Thewayinwhichconsumersareinfluencedbyemotionsinthedecisionmakingprocesshasbeeevidentinthelastcoupleofdecades.Traditionally,consumershavebeenasked‘howtheyfeelaboutproductsandservices.However,aspeopleareoftenunawareoftheemotionstheyexperience,theresponsesdonotaccuratelyreflectreality.Itcanthereforebedifficulttogetaclearunderstandingofwhatkindsofemotionsinfluencethechoicesmade.Onewayofoveringthisproblemisthroughtheuseofconsumerneuroscienceinvestigations,whichhavehelpedtocreateadeeperunderstandingoftheroleofemotionsinconsumerrelatedchoices.Fromneurosciencestudies,wehavelearntthatallemotionsserveasasourceofinformationforconsumers.Generally,emotionsaregroupedaspositiveornegative.Positiveemotionsincludelove,pride,andhappinesswhilstnegativeemotionsincludeaspectssuchasanger,disgust,andfear.Whethertheemotionsarepositiveornegative,theyalltriggerphysiologicalresponses,suchasincreasedheartrateandadrenalinerushes.Also,bothtypesofemotionsplayasignificantroleinsteeringthechoicesconsumersmake.DifferenttypesofmoodsWhetheryouexperiencepositiveornegativeemotions,bothwillsteerthedecisionsconsumersmake.However,itisimportanttodistinguishbetweendifferenttypesofemotionsratherthanwhethertheyarepositiveornegative.Consumershavebeenfoundtobemorewillingtopayahigherpriceforgoodsandaredrawntowardhighriskandhighrewardoptionswhentheyaresad.Regardingthelatter,let’ssaythatyoufeelsad,andyouareanenvironmentalist.Whilstshoppinginasupermarketyouarefacedwithatwoforoneoffer.Ratherthanthinkingthatyoudon’tneedtwoidenticalproducts,youfocusonthefactthatyouaregettingoneitemforfree,andthereforegowiththehighrewardoption.Whenitestorisk,anxietycanreducethelikelihoodofmakingariskychoiceandmakeyoucarelessaboutrewards.Interestingly,thisalsohappenswhenpeopleexperiencepositiveemotions.Thusdemonstratingthatnotallnegativemoodsaffectyouinthesamewayandthattheycangenerateasimilarouteaspositivemoods.Anotherexampleofhownegativemoodscaninfluenceriskrelateddecisionmakingdifferentlycanbenotedfromfearandanger.Forexample,angerleadstomoreoptimisticassessmentswhilstfearleadstomorepessimisticriskassessments.Whenitestoriskseeking,perhapsthemostproblematicemotionforconsumersisstress.Itisnotunmonforconsumerstorushtomakedecisionsbetweenworkorsocialactivities.Thisoftenmeansthattheyfeelpressuredtomakeaquickdecision.Itmaybeonetheyregretasstressisknowntoincreaseriskseeking.Menhavealsobeenfoundtotakemorerisks,paredtowomen,whenfeelingstressed.Thisbehaviourwasassociatedwithgreateractivationintheinsula(whichsignalsaversiveoutesandweighingdifferencesinexpectedvalueinriskydecisionmaking)andtheputamen(thathaveafunctionalroleinhabitualbehaviour)duringthedecisionmakingprocessinparisontowomen.Therelationshipbetweenemotionsandrisktakingissomethingparticularlyworthbearinginmindifyouaremakingfinanciallyrelateddecisions.Evenpayingforanitemonlinemaybeaffectedbyhowsomeonefeels.Ifthereisperceivedriskaboutmakingthepaymentonline,itcandecreasethelikelihoodofapurchasetakingplace.MakingfuturedecisionsPurchasesofteninvolvemakingpredictionsabouthowwemayfeelwhenwehaveboughtsomething.Forexample,willbuyinganewhatmakemefeelgood?Unfortunately,consumersarenotgreatatpredictinghowtheywillfeelinthefuture.Thismeansthatpeopleoftenpurchasesomethingonthebasisthattheythinkitwillmakethemhappy.However,asitismontooverestimatethefutureemotionsofhappinesslinkedtoproducts,consumersoftenfeeldisappointedwiththeitemasitdoesnotliveuptotheiremotionalexpectations.Andjustasconsumerscan’taccuratelypredicthowtheymayfeelwhentheyownaproduct,theyalsofinditdifficulttoimaginehowtheymayfeelaboutbeingrewardedinthefuture.Meaningthatimmediaterewardstendtobemoreemotionallysalient.Hence,ifpeopleexpecttoexperiencelesspleasurableemotionsinthefuture,theyarealsolesswillingtowaitforfuturerewards.Justasintheearlierexampleoffacingatwoforoneofferinasupermarket,itmakespeoplemorelikelytoignorefutureenvironmentallybasedrewards,eventhoughitmaygivethemimmensepleasure.It'splicatedWhilstthereiscurrentlynoexactguideonhowconsumersrespondtotheiremotions,itisevidentthatemotionsaresteeringthedecisionmakingprocess.Forexample,asaconsumer,youshouldbeawareofthisandtrytoavoidshoppingandmakingdecisionswhenyouareunderpressureorfeelinganxiousasitmaynotleadtotheoutesyouwant.Exercise1：英譯漢翻譯練習(xí)consumers_____________________anxiety_____________________traditionally_____________________accurately_____________________investigation_____________________createadeeperunderstandingof_____________________serveas_____________________triggerphysiologicalresponses_____________________playasignificantroleinsteer_____________________distinguishbetweendifferenttypesofemotions_____________________befacedwith_____________________ratherthan_____________________beassociatedwith_____________________activation_____________________inparisonto____________________bearinginmind_____________________overestimate_____________________liveuptotheiremotionalexpectations_____________________underpressure_____________________Exercise2：漢譯英翻譯練習(xí)消費(fèi)者_(dá)____________________焦慮_____________________傳統(tǒng)上是_____________________準(zhǔn)確_____________________調(diào)查_____________________創(chuàng)建對……的更深入的理解_____________________作為_____________________觸發(fā)生理反應(yīng)_____________________發(fā)揮重要作用_____________________區(qū)分不同類型的情緒_____________________面對_____________________而不是_____________________與……有關(guān)聯(lián)_____________________激活_____________________與……相比____________________請記住_____________________高估_____________________辜負(fù)他們的情感期望_____________________在壓力下_____________________Exercise3：語法填空練習(xí)Howmuchconsumersarewillingtopayandtheriskstheytakeareinfluencedbyemotions,suchas_____________________(anxious)._________________(be)awareofemotionalinfluencescanhelpyoumakebetterdecisions.Thewayinwhichconsumersareinfluencedbyemotionsint