..-$Mood States and Consumer Behavior:A Critical Review:..’MERYL PAULA GARDNER*A conceptual framework IS presented that dqxcts both the rnedatmg roke of moodstates and their pmential imponance m consumer behavior. Reviewing frndhgs fromthe psyc+mtogasl Itterature indbtes that rnocxl states have tied and tndwect effectson txmawor. evaluat a, and recAl The scope and Iikrutattcsns of these eff acts areaddressed. and the Impkat Ions for msurner ~ha~ m three areas—~ ~.counters, pomtd-purchase st,mull, and mrnmunimbons (mntext and content+are examr@. FIMlly, the pot ant~l Ieaslbl!ry and viablrty of rrmd-ralatd appmedato merkemg research and prachce are discussed.Individuals often t~ to anticipate each others’ moodsprior to interactions and to read ea~’h others’ moodsduring encounters. In these ways, mood information isacquired and used informally to facilitate social andprofessional interactions. For example, knowledge ofthe boss’s mood on a particular day may help an em-ployee anticipate the boss’s reactions to a request for araise. Analogously, knowledge of consumers’ moodstates in marketing situations may provide marketerswith a more complete understanding of consumers andtheir reactions to marketing strategies and tactics. Thismood-state knowledge may be particularly relevant forunderstanding consumer behavior as it is affected byservice encounters, poinl-of-purchase stimuli, the con-tent of marketing communications, and the contcxl inwhich these communications appear.More generally, insights into consumer behavior maybe gleaned by examining consumers’ thoughts and feel-ings. Considerable research using a traditional infor-mation processing paradigm has enriched our under-standing of the cognitive mediators of consumer be-havior. Significant insights into consumer behavior havealso come from research that has examined noncog-nitive (nonbelief) factors such as subjective familiarity(Park, Gardner, and Thukral 1984), fun and fantasy(Hirschtnan and Holbrook 1982; Holbrook andHirschman 1982), motor and somatic representationof affect (Zajonc and Markus 1982), emotion (Fennel]1981; Weinberg and Gottwald 1982), and attitude to-ward the adve~i~ment (Gardner 1985, Lutz. )vfac-Kenzie,;mtd Belch 1983; Mitchell and Olson 198 l;-.“Me~l ?aula bardner is Assistant professor of Marketing. WVYork Untversily. Ncw York, NY [0003. The author wishes [o !hankC. Samuel Craig. John Czcpiel. C. W. Park. John Rossltcr. and thercvicwcrs of JCR (or their helpful comments on earlier drafts of thisj’mptr281Moore and Hutchinson 1983; Rossiter and Percy 1980;Shimp 198 I ). Findings indica:e that these feelings-ori-ented factors may play a major role in consumer-atti-tude formation and brand selection.Since mood states are a particularly impotint set ofaflcctive factors (Gardner and Vandersteel 1984; West-brook 1980), they form a pan of all marketing situations(Belk 1975; Lutz and Kakkar 1975) and may influenceconsumer behavior in many contexts, e.g., advefiisc-ment exposure and brand selection. Mood states maybe quite transient and easily influenced by little things(Isen et al. 1982). Small changes in physical surround-ings may influence consumers* moods at the point ofpurchase, and slight deviations in communicationsstrategies may significantly affect moods upon exposureto advertising. In fact, although consumers’ moods areoften affected by factors beyond a marketer’s control,moods can be greatly influenced by seemingly smallaspects of marketer behavior, e.g., a saJesperson*s smileor a long wait for a doctor’s appointment.Because mood states are omnipresent and readily in-fluenced by marketer action, they may have importanteffects on consumer behavior. This atlicle provides apreliminaq expiration of this potentially important,but inadequately charted ternto~. Specifically, we pro-pose to examine the effects of consumers” moods onbehavior, evaluation, and recall in marketing contexts.informal analysis has suggested three areas where moodeffects appear to be significant and where mood statescan be influenced by marketing tactics: service encoun-ters, point-of-purchase stimuli, and communications(context and content). The presentjarticle will focus onthese domains, although they are--not the only areaswhere mood states may have impoRant effects on con-sumer behavior.>..First, I will defsne terms to help clarify the distinctionsbetween moods and other feeling states. Second. 1 willC, JOURNAL OF COW~fER R=&4ROi ● Vssl. 12 ● Oaernbcr 1985f599.282THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH*.present a conceptual framework and discuss findingsabout the nature and limitations of the direct and in-direct effects of mood on behavior, evaluation, and re-Lcall. Third, 1 will examine the potential implications ofthese findings for consumer behavior with respect toservice encounters, point-of-purchase slimuli, andcommunications. In each of these areas I will addressthret5 questions:;,~.- What inferences can bc drawn for consumer behaviorfrom our knowledge of the effects of mood states onbehavior, evaluation, and rccal]?2. Can marketers take advantage of the opportunitiessuggcs:cd by the etTects of mood states on consumerbehavior, or do logistical limitations prohibit imple-mentation of mood-oncntcd marketing approaches?3. what is the current status and future potential of re-search to assess the impact of mood on consumer be-havior?Fourth, 1 will discuss the implications of mood effectson consumer behavior as they relate to the design ofmarketing-research studies and the development ofmarketing actions. Finally, I will make suggestions forfuture research.Definition of TermsThe word “mood” has a wide range of usages andmeaning. One might use the term to describe a phe-nomenological property of an individual’s subjectivelyperceived affcctivc state; e.g., someone may be in acheerful mood or a hostile mood. Onc might also usemood to describe a property of an inanimate object;- e.g., a point-of-purchase display may have a “sophis-ticated mood”’ or a “fun mood.” For the purposes ofthis anicle, we will adopt the former, phenomenological,approach and view moods as feeling states that are sub-jectively perceived by individuals. As such, moods area subcatego~ of feeling states.The phrase “feeling state’* will be used to” refer to anaffective state that is general and pervasive. Such states“’suffuse all one’s experiences, even though directed atnone in