The authors conduct meta-analyses of relationships involving positive and negative ad-evoked feelings to determine (1) whether the effects of positive and negative feelings on advertising responses are symmetrical or asymmetrical and bipolar or bidimensional; (2) whether study design characteristics influence the strength of effects of positive and negative feelings on ad and brand attitudes; (3) whether moderator effects are differential for positive and negative feelings; and (4) whether relationships are generalizable across different study designs, product types, and media. Using the aggregated data, the authors assess competing predictions of three alternative theoretical perspectives: bipolarity, generalized asymmetry, and contingent asymmetry. Analyses indicate that positive and negative feelings have contingently asymmetrical effects on advertising responses. Study conditions related to subjects’ cognitive processing sets moderated the effects of negative feelings on ad and brand attitudes but generally did not moderate the effects of positive feelings. The authors also demonstrate the utility of bootstrapping as an advantageous new way of conducting moderator analyses in meta-analysis.
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