"Heart strings and purse strings" revisited: A preregistered replication and extension

The Appraisal-Tendency Framework outlines that discrete emotions of similar valence behave differently, based on each emotion's specific appraisal profile. In the domain of pricing decisions, a seminal paper by Lerner and colleagues report incidental, negative emotions of disgust and sadness to show a divergent effect on spending decisions based on the perceived ownership of a commodity. Specifically, disgust-reduced spending while sadness increased spending on a new product. However, these researchers theorized, but did not statistically test the effects of emotion-induced motivational goals for sadness ("change circumstances") and disgust ("expel and avoid") as the drivers behind their divergent effects on spending. This study (N = 403) sought to replicate these primary findings in close adherence to the original protocol with better measurement properties in a different geographical location. It further extended the examination by empirically testing the distinct mediating processes for sadness and disgust by utilizing measures identified from a pilot study (N = 169) based on the original protocol. We found support for the effect of sadness (vs. disgust and neutral) in inducing higher choice prices through the motivational goal of changing circumstances, but the expected pattern of results for disgust was not replicated. Additionally, we examined the role of arousal in this context as a factor driving the effect of these emotions on spending. Our research offers new insights regarding the well-known "misery-is not miserly" effect for practitioners while also providing impetus for future research on the endowment effect. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The curious case of threat-awe: A theoretical and empirical reconceptualization

Threat-based awe, or threat-awe, has been conceptualized as a fear-centric, negative-valenced variant of awe, although awe is a positive emotion embodying wonder and amazement. This research, however, argues that threat-awe is a mixed emotion rather than a negatively valenced subaspect of awe. We tested this conceptualization using two methodologies: (a) the theoretical framework of cognitive appraisals and (b) measures of ambivalence (an emotion co-occurrence index of bivalence, the Evaluative Space Grid, and a four-item scale to measure mixed emotions). Five studies (N = 1,140) compared threat-awe's appraisal profile and valence perceptions to univalenced, positive (awe, pride, happiness) and negative (fear) emotions. Research suggests that appraisal profiles of mixed emotions are close to their component emotions but distinct on certain appraisal dimensions. The empirical measures of valence demonstrate that threat-awe is felt as awe and fear in concert. Further, in terms of appraisals, threat-awe's appraisal profile is distinct from awe and fear on the dimensions of vastness, pleasantness, and situational control. Together, the two approaches-cognitive appraisals and measures of valence-provide convergent evidence that threat-awe is a mixed emotion. In conceptually clarifying threat-awe, we contribute to the nascent literature on mixed emotions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).