Mood, Awareness, and Product Evaluation
Gerald Gorn, Marvin Goldberg and Kunal Basu had participants rate stereo speakers while music put them in a good or a bad mood. They varied whether participants recognised the music as the cause of their mood. When participants did not notice the link, those in a good mood rated the speakers more favourably than those in a bad mood. When they did notice, the difference disappeared. Only people in good moods seemed able to correct for the bias once aware of its source, and the authors conclude that people in bad moods may struggle to evaluate an outside object objectively even when motivated to.
Gerald Gorn, Marvin Goldberg and Kunal Basu had participants rate stereo speakers while music put them in a good or a bad mood. They varied whether participants recognised the music as the cause of their mood. When participants did not notice the link, those in a good mood rated the speakers more favourably than those in a bad mood. When they did notice, the difference disappeared. Only people in good moods seemed able to correct for the bias once aware of its source, and the authors conclude that people in bad moods may struggle to evaluate an outside object objectively even when motivated to.
Written from the abstract read 2026-10-22 via a university research portal record.
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doi:10.1016/S1057-7408(08)80016-2. Read at the level of the abstract.