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Lay Theories of Emotion Transience and the Search for Happiness: A Fresh Perspective on Affect Regulation

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  • Aparna A. Labroo
  • Anirban Mukhopadhyay

Abstract

Across six studies, we demonstrate that consumers have beliefs pertaining to the transience of emotion, which, along with their current feelings, determine the extent to which they regulate their immediate affect. If consumers believe that emotion is fleeting, those feeling happy (vs. unhappy) engage in affect regulation because they infer that they need to take actions to maintain their positive feelings. In contrast, if consumers believe that emotion is lasting, those feeling unhappy (vs. happy) engage in affect regulation because they infer that the negative feelings will persist unless they take actions to repair them. These effects are obtained with measured and with manipulated beliefs, and they occur only when the theories pertain specifically to emotion. Implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Aparna A. Labroo & Anirban Mukhopadhyay, 2009. "Lay Theories of Emotion Transience and the Search for Happiness: A Fresh Perspective on Affect Regulation," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 36(2), pages 242-254.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/597159
    DOI: 10.1086/597159
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    Cited by:

    1. Francine Espinoza Petersen, 2012. "When do consumers indulge in luxury? Emotional certainty signals when to indulge to regulate affect," ESMT Research Working Papers ESMT-12-06, ESMT European School of Management and Technology.
    2. Inés López López & Salvador Ruiz de Maya, 2012. "When hedonic products help regulate my mood," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 701-717, September.
    3. Thomas Kramer & Caglar Irmak & Lauren Block & Veronika Ilyuk, 2012. "The effect of a no-pain, no-gain lay theory on product efficacy perceptions," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 517-529, September.
    4. Ye, Nan & Teng, Lefa & Yu, Ying & Wang, Yingyuan, 2015. "“What's in it for me?”: The effect of donation outcomes on donation behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 480-486.
    5. Uzma Khan & Alexander DePaoli, 2024. "Brand loyalty in the face of stockouts," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 44-74, January.
    6. Chen, Huan & Pang, Jun & Koo, Minkyung & Patrick, Vanessa M., 2020. "Shape Matters: Package Shape Informs Brand Status Categorization and Brand Choice," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(2), pages 266-281.
    7. Chen, Ning & Petersen, Francine E. & Lowrey, Tina M., 2022. "The effect of altruistic gift giving on self-indulgence in affordable luxury," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 84-94.
    8. Mohsen Joshanloo & Dan Weijers & Ding-Yu Jiang & Gyuseog Han & Jaechang Bae & Joyce Pang & Lok Ho & Maria Ferreira & Melikşah Demir & Muhammad Rizwan & Imran Khilji & Mustapha Achoui & Ryosuke Asano &, 2015. "Fragility of Happiness Beliefs Across 15 National Groups," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1185-1210, October.
    9. Jan-Hinrich Meyer & Ko Ruyter & Dhruv Grewal & Kathleen Cleeren & Debbie Isobel Keeling & Scott Motyka, 2020. "Categorical versus dimensional thinking: improving anti-stigma campaigns by matching health message frames and implicit worldviews," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 222-245, March.
    10. Erik Maier & Robert Wilken & Helmut Schneider & Gülpınar Kelemci Schneider, 2012. "In the mood to buy? Understanding the interplay of mood regulation and congruence in an international context," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 1005-1018, December.
    11. Cheng, Yimin & Zhang, Kuangjie & Zhuang, Xuhong, 2024. "Follow your heart or your mind: The effect of consumption frequency on consumers’ reliance on feelings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    12. Petersen, Francine Espinoza & Dretsch, Heather Johnson & Komarova Loureiro, Yuliya, 2018. "Who needs a reason to indulge? Happiness following reason-based indulgent consumption," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 170-184.

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