ABSTRACT

High status is conducive to many pleasant outcomes in life, and people often desire status goods for the attention and respect that are given to those who have them. This research shows that positive affect decreases the extent to which people pursue the extrinsic consumption benefits that hinge on others’ approval, and attenuates the magnitude of value people normally place on the social signaling attributes. When target products feature socially visible status attributes (e.g., brand logo), positive affect dampens people’s normative valuation of the goods. When the status attributes are invisible to others, the dampening effect becomes insignificant. When the products are noted for intrinsic quality attributes, positive affect enhances the evaluation. Thus, positive affect has more nuanced and distinct, rather than general, effects on product evaluation. These results suggest that positive affect can naturally attenuate people’s desire for status goods that are normally pursued for their social signaling efficacy.

摘要

高地位有利于生活中许多令人愉快的结果，人们往往渴望地位商品，以获得对拥有它们的人的关注和尊重。这项研究表明，积极影响降低了人们追求依赖于他人认可的外在消费利益的程度，并削弱了人们通常对社会信号属性的重视程度。当目标产品具有社会可见的地位属性（例如，品牌标志）时，积极影响会抑制人们对商品的规范评价。当状态属性对其他人不可见时，抑制效果变得微不足道。当产品因内在质量属性而受到关注时，积极影响会增强评估。因此，积极的影响更加细微和独特，而不是普遍的，对产品评价的影响。这些结果表明，积极的影响可以自然地削弱人们对地位物品的渴望，而这种渴望通常是为了社会信号功效而追求的。