Marketing Management, 16th Edition

Emotions

Emotions are mental states that arise spontaneously rather than from conscious effort and reflect people’s positive or negative reactions to internal and external stimuli. We typically have little control of feelings such as joy, sorrow, anger, fear, and ambivalence, which vary in intensity and complexity depending on our personal reactions and can be accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes.

Consumer response is not all cognitive and rational. Many responses may be emotional and evoke different kinds of feelings. A brand or product may make a consumer feel proud, excited, or confident. An ad may create feelings of amusement, disgust, or wonder. Brands like Hallmark, McDonald’s, and Coca-Cola have made an emotional connection ...