The Influence of Affective State on Satisfaction Ratings

Abstract

The author examines the influence of affective state - both temporary affect unrelated to the product/service being evaluated and life satisfaction - on consumer satisfaction ratings. Temporary affect is manipulated and then separated into two states, positive and negative. Three different scales are used to measure consumer satisfaction with the most recent shoe purchase and restaurant experience: 1) an adaptation of Oliver's (1997) consumption satisfaction scale, 2) the single- item delighted/terrible scale developed by Andrews and Withey (1976) and 3) a single-item, bipolar, very satisfied/very dissatisfied scale.  The results indicate that the Oliver (1997) scale is the most robust against influence from temporary positive affect and life satisfaction. No influence from negative affect was found.