This article proposes a general model in which various situational and sequential aspects of consumer behavior combine with features of a product to determine perceptions and their affective consequences. It illustrates this model by means of an example from applied empirical aesthetics and investigates the effects of tempo on perceptual and affective aesthetic responses to music. In particular, a new analysis of some data drawn from consumer aesthetics demonstrates the intervening role of perceived activity in mediating the effects of musical tempo on affect across a sequence of listening experiences at different levels of situational arousal.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BatraR. and RayM. L., Situational Effects of Advertising Repetition: The Moderating Influence of Motivation, Ability, and Opportunity to Respond, Journal of Consumer Research, 12, pp. 432–445, 1986.
2.
AakerD. A., Managing Brand Equity, The Free Press, New York, 1991.
3.
MeyerR. J. and KahnB. E., Probabilistic Models of Consumer Choice Behavior, in Handbook of Consumer Behavior, RobertsonT. S. and KassarjianH. H. (eds.), Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, pp. 85–123, 1991.
4.
SchindlerR. M.HolbrookM. B., and GreenleafE. A., Using Connoisseurs to Predict Mass Tastes, Marketing Letters, 1:1, pp. 47–54, 1989.
5.
HauserJ. R. and WisniewskiK. J., Application, Predictive Test, and Strategy Implications for a Dynamic Model of Consumer Response, Marketing Science, 1, pp. 143–179, 1982.
6.
MooreW. L. and WinerR. S., A Panel-Data Based Method for Merging Joint Space and Market Response Function Estimation, Marketing Science, 6, pp. 25–42, 1987.
7.
HolbrookM. B. and HavlenaW. J., Assessing the Real-to-Artificial Generalizability of Multiattribute Models in Tests of New Product Designs, Journal of Marketing Research, 25, pp. 25–35, 1988.
8.
NeslinS. A., Unking Product Features to Perceptions: Self-Stated Versus Statistically Revealed Importance Weights, Journal of Marketing Research, 18, pp. 80–86, 1981.
9.
HuberJ.HolbrookM. B., and SchiffmanS., Situational Psychophysics and the Vending-Machine Problem, Journal of Retailing, 58, pp. 82–94, 1982.
10.
HelsonH., Adaptation Level Theory, Harper & Row, New York, 1964.
11.
HolbrookM. B. and AnandP., Effects of Tempo and Situational Arousal on the Listener's Perceptual and Affective Responses to Music, Psychology of Music, 18, pp. 150–162, 1991.
12.
HollandB., Recital: Konrad Wolff, New York Times, p. 62, March 15, 1987.
13.
HevnerK., The Affective Value of Pitch and Tempo in Music, American Journal of Psychology, 49, pp. 621–630, 1937.
14.
BrownP., An Enquiry into the Origins and Nature of Tempo Behaviour: II, Psychology of Music, 9:2, pp. 32–43, 1981.
15.
BairdJ. C. and NomaE., Fundamentals of Scaling and Psychophysics, Wiley, New York, 1978.
16.
StevensS. S., Psychophysics: Introduction to Its Perceptual, Neural, and Social Prospects, Wiley, New York, 1975.
17.
BerlyneD. E., Aesthetics and Psychobiology, Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1971.
18.
DeciE. L., Intrinsic Motivation, Plenum Press, New York, 1975.
19.
KonecniV. J., Social Interaction and Musical Preference, in The Psychology of Music, DeutschDiana (ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 497–516, 1982.
20.
McHrabianA. and RussellJ. A., An Approach to Environmental Psychology, The MIT Press, Cambridge, 1974.
21.
BaronR. M. and KennyD. A., The Moderator-Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51, pp. 1173–1182, 1986.
22.
HeathT. B., The Logic of Mere Exposure, Journal of Consumer Research, 17, pp. 237–241, 1990.
23.
LockheadG. R. and KingM. C., A Memory Model of Sequential Effects in Scaling Tasks, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 9, pp. 461–473, 1983.
24.
JesteadtW. R.LuceR. D., and GreenD. M., Sequential Effects in Judgments of Loudness, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 3, pp. 92–104, 1977.
25.
StaddonJ. E. R.KingM., and LockheadG. R., On Sequential Effects in Absolute Judgment Experiments, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 6, pp. 290–301, 1980.
26.
GescheiderG. A., Psychophysical Scaling, Annual Review of Psychology, 39, pp. 169–200, 1988.
27.
PedhazurE. J., Multiple Regression in Behavioral Research: Explanation and Prediction, (2nd Edition), Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1982.
28.
SAS Institute, SAS/Graph User's Guide, Release 6.03 Edition, SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, 1988.
