Lenses of the Heart: How Actors’ and Observers’ Perspectives Influence Emotional Experiences

14 Pages Posted: 30 Oct 2012

See all articles by Iris W. Hung

Iris W. Hung

National University of Singapore (NUS) - NUS Business School

Anirban Mukhopadhyay

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST)

Date Written: October 29, 2012

Abstract

This research examines how the visual perspectives that people take to appraise an event, that is, whether they view themselves as actors in the situation or observers of it, influence the intensities of the emotions they experience. We predict that in a situation that elicits emotions, greater attention to the self (if using an observer’s perspective) leads to greater intensity of self-conscious emotions such as pride, guilt, and embarrassment, whereas greater attention to the situation (if using an actor’s perspective) leads to greater intensity of hedonic emotions such as joy, sorrow, and excitement. In this way, visual perspectives can act as situational antecedents that shape the use of emotion appraisals. Three experiments support these propositions and demonstrate the mediating role of appraisals, across a variety of emotion-eliciting contexts, that were visualized as well as recalled.

Keywords: specific emotions, mixed emotions, visual perspectives, advertising

Suggested Citation

Hung, Iris W. and Mukhopadhyay, Anirban, Lenses of the Heart: How Actors’ and Observers’ Perspectives Influence Emotional Experiences (October 29, 2012). Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 38, April 2012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2168048

Iris W. Hung

National University of Singapore (NUS) - NUS Business School ( email )

1 Business Link
Singapore, 117592
Singapore

Anirban Mukhopadhyay (Contact Author)

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) ( email )

999999

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
90
Abstract Views
812
Rank
513,289
PlumX Metrics