Persuasive Communication - How Audiences Decide. 2nd Edition

324 Understanding Emotional Decision Making

FIGURE 7.4 Emotional Appraisals Trigger Action Tendencies

Different emotional appraisals lead to different physiological changes. For example, the appraisal

of negatively valenced pictures decelerates viewers’ heart rates, whereas the appraisal of positively

valenced pictures produces a large peak in heart rate acceleration.^160

The audience’s physiological responses to emotional appraisals also evoke specifi c action

tendencies in them.^161 In an early account of action tendencies, psychologist Robert Plutchik

proposed that anger evokes the action tendency to destroy; fear to protect; sadness to reinte-

grate; joy to reproduce; and disgust to reject.^162 Somewhat later, psychologist Richard Lazarus

proposed a similar set of action tendencies for each emotion.^163 Table 7.3 shows the overall

agreement among fi ve prominent theorists about the action tendencies associated with eight

different emotions.

Action tendencies, such as those illustrated in Figure 7.4, play an infl uential role in audience

decision making. For example, sadness amplifi es the audience’s commitment to hold on to their

possessions, whereas disgust triggers an impulse to get rid of them.^164 Consumers who experience

regret after failing to receive good service have a different action tendency than consumers who are

angry about poor service. Consumers who experience regret switch to another service provider,

whereas consumers who are angry actively engage in negative word-of-mouth.^165

TABLE 7.3 Researchers Are in Basic Agreement About Action Tendencies

Plutchik

(1980)

Frijda

(1986)

Lazarus

(1991)

Roseman

(2001)

Surprise Stop Interrupt Interrupt

Joy Reproduce Activate Expand Act

Fear Protect Avoid Escape Prevent

Anger Destroy Attack Attack Attack

Sadness Reintegrate Deactivate Withdraw Inaction

Disgust Reject Reject Eject Expel

Shame Submit Hide Withdraw

Pride Dominate Expand Dominate