Role of Prior Affect and Sensory Cues on Consumers’ Affective and Cognitive Responses and Overall Perceptions of Quality

Abstract

Product quality has been examined primarily by focusing on the cognitive evaluations of various intrinsic product characteristics (e.g., quality of raw materials, tolerances) or extrinsic quality signals (e.g., price, warranty). Thus, quality is considered to be an integration of assessments of such factors as reliability, durability, and workmanship. We develop and empirically test a model that integrates affective responses with the cognitive dimension of consumer product evaluations. The thesis of the model is that consumers’ affective responses to product sensory cues (e.g., color, aroma, flavor) in addition to their cognitive responses, can also influence quality perceptions via three modes of processing. This model also considers the influence of prior affect for the sensory cue on the cognitive and affective responses. Three experiments (using a combined sample of 167 university students) provide general support for the model.