Although affects such as interest, contentment, excitement, and relaxation are positive in valence, we argue that the cognitive and motivational functions of specific affects differ, making the effects of interest versus contentment and excitement versus relaxation differential in the adoption of new technology. We hypothesized that while interest and excitement will have positive associations with new technology adoption, contentment and relaxation may be negatively associated. The overall hypotheses were supported by the results of an online survey of 156 Korean adults. In addition, the results were consistent with the view that pleasure is a generic term encompassing various positive affects, such as interest and excitement. The effect of pleasure on new technology adoption was mediated by the specific affects of which it was comprised, including interest and excitement.
Media users experience various kinds of affects due to media use. Some might experience relaxation by relieving stress, while others might experience excitement by stimulating the prevention of boredom. In addition, some might feel interest by being able to explore new opportunities through the media, while others might feel contentment from their media use. Given that these affective experiences are generally positive, one might ask if they will be identical in terms of the influence of affective experiences on user decision making and judgment, such as the adoption of new technology. The answer to this question depends on how the cognitive and motivational functions of affects are understood.
When making decisions and judgments, individuals typically rely on their feelings, as feeling provides a more efficient way to estimate values in decision than reasoning (Cabanac, 1992, Peters, 2006, Peters et al., 2006 and Vohs et al., 2007). With the rapid advancement of technology, decisions and judgments are becoming even more complex. For example, when purchasing a new smartphone, numerous factors may influence consumer choice, including design, price, and performance. If consumers estimates the value of new smartphones through conscious calculation of all the related factors, the decision making process may reach a deadlock.
The traditional approach to understanding affects is mostly valence-based, distinguishing them into positive and negative (e.g., Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988). From this perspective, the influence of affective experiences on decision making and judgment is mainly determined by the valence of the affective experiences (e.g., Schwarz & Clore, 1983). Although the valence-based approach informed us that affects have cognitive and motivational functions, distinguishing them simply by their positivity and negativity can limit our understanding of the precise functions of affects. Recently, research on the influence of affects on decision making and judgment focused on the role of specific affects, through which the differential effects of certain affects have been highlighted ( Griskevicius, Shiota and Neufeld, 2010, Griskevicius, Shiota and Nowlis, 2010b, Lerner and Keltner, 2000 and Lerner and Keltner, 2001).
The present study focused on positive affects, because these have gained much less attention than negative affects, and the adoption of new technology fits well with such affects. Thus, the purpose of this research was to examine the associations among various positive affects and media selection, especially intention to adopt and use of new technology. To this end, theories on the cognitive and motivational function of affects were first reviewed, after which examination was carried out on how specific positive affects, including excitement, interest, relaxation, and contentment, are associated with intention to adopt and use of new technology in a divergent way.
The rest of the paper is organized as follows: Sections 2 and 2.1 provide a literature review on the functional approach to affect and decomposing positive affects, respectively; Section 3 proposes the rationales used in this study, and develops the hypotheses tested herein; Section 4 describes the research methods; Section 5 provides the results of empirical tests; and Section 6 presents an analytical discussion and the conclusions, along with some implications for practitioners and researchers. Finally, Section 6.4 ends with the limitations of this study, and the topics for future research.
