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Emotional Trade-Off Difficulty and Choice

Publication ,  Journal Article
Luce, MF; Payne, JW; Bettman, JR
Published in: Journal of Marketing Research
May 1, 1999

In this article, the authors explore whether choice patterns are sensitive to the potential of relevant trade-offs to elicit negative emotion. Across three experiments, decision makers increasingly use a choice strategy that maximizes quality at the expense of some currency (usually price) when the quality attribute is rated as more inherently emotion-laden (Experiment 1) or involves losses rather than gains (Experiments 2 and 3). These emotional trade-off difficulty effects on choice are obtained even after controlling for effects that are attributable to subjects’ relative importance weights for the quality versus currency attributes. A fourth experiment validates that tasks requiring losses (versus gains) on quality attributes are assessed as particularly emotion-laden by naïve subjects. Overall, it appears that coping with potentially emotion-laden choice trade-offs is one factor influencing consumer choice strategies. Thus, emotional trade-off difficulty is a factor that marketers should consider when attempting to predict and explain consumer choice patterns. These conclusions are consistent with recent research that argues that avoiding or otherwise coping with negative emotion is an important goal that guides decision behavior (e.g., Larrick 1993; Luce, Bettman, and Payne 1997; Simonson 1992).

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of Marketing Research

DOI

EISSN

1547-7193

ISSN

0022-2437

Publication Date

May 1, 1999

Volume

36

Issue

2

Start / End Page

143 / 159

Related Subject Headings

  • Marketing
  • 3506 Marketing
  • 1505 Marketing
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Luce, M. F., Payne, J. W., & Bettman, J. R. (1999). Emotional Trade-Off Difficulty and Choice. Journal of Marketing Research, 36(2), 143–159. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379903600201
Luce, M. F., J. W. Payne, and J. R. Bettman. “Emotional Trade-Off Difficulty and Choice.” Journal of Marketing Research 36, no. 2 (May 1, 1999): 143–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224379903600201.
Luce MF, Payne JW, Bettman JR. Emotional Trade-Off Difficulty and Choice. Journal of Marketing Research. 1999 May 1;36(2):143–59.
Luce, M. F., et al. “Emotional Trade-Off Difficulty and Choice.” Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 36, no. 2, May 1999, pp. 143–59. Scopus, doi:10.1177/002224379903600201.
Luce MF, Payne JW, Bettman JR. Emotional Trade-Off Difficulty and Choice. Journal of Marketing Research. 1999 May 1;36(2):143–159.

Published In

Journal of Marketing Research

DOI

EISSN

1547-7193

ISSN

0022-2437

Publication Date

May 1, 1999

Volume

36

Issue

2

Start / End Page

143 / 159

Related Subject Headings

  • Marketing
  • 3506 Marketing
  • 1505 Marketing