An Experimental Research On The Effect Of Emotion And Time Pressure On Information Processing In Purchasing Decision

The present study is based on the framework of information processing and undertaken by the process-tracking way in the decision study. It explores how emotion and time pressure influence information processing in purchasing decision in reality with the help of information display board in the decision process study. The present study has five branch studies. They are two preparatory experiments and three serial experiments.The two preparatory experiments provide the necessary experimental material and theoretical basis for the formal experiment. Preparatory experiment 1 provides the five most important factors affecting consumers'purchasing decision by investigating openly subjects with a self-designed questionnaire. Preparatory experiment 2 provides us with the average score and standard variable of the time subjects spent on the decision task by an experiment imitated by computer. Thus, the decision time under different pressure circumstances is clarified with the corresponding standard.Experiment 1 mainly explores how emotion influences information processing in the purchasing decision. The result shows that groups with different emotions are significantly different from each other in terms of the depth search in purchasing decision information processing: the group with active emotion is significantly higher than those with medium and passive emotion; the group with medium emotion is significantly higher than that with passive emotion. In the perspective of the pattern of search in purchasing decision information processing, groups with different emotions are significantly different from each other: groups with active and medium emotion are more likely to adopt choice-dominated information pattern of search, the group with passive emotion is more likely to adopt category-dominated information pattern of search.Experiment 2 mainly explores how time pressure influences information processing in purchasing decision. The result shows that in the perspective of the depth of search in the purchasing decision information processing, groups with different time pressure are significantly different from each other: the group with no time pressure is significantly higher than the group with time pressure; the group with low time pressure is also significantly higher than the group with high time pressure. In the perspective of pattern of search in purchasing decision information processing, groups with different pressure are significantly different with each other: the group with no time pressure and low time pressure are more likely to adopt choice-dominated pattern of search; the group with high time pressure is more likely to adopt category-dominated information pattern of search.Experiment 3 simultaneously explores the effect of emotion and time pressure as well as the interaction between the two on the information processing in purchasing decision. The result shows that in the perspective of the depth of search in purchasing decision, both of emotion and time pressure's main effect are significant. The group with low time pressure is more subject to emotion, while the group with high time pressure is less likely to be influenced by emotion. In terms of pattern of search in purchasing decision information processing, both of emotion and time pressure's main effect of their interaction is not significant.