Facial Behaviors and Emotional Reactions in Consumer Research

Abstract

Gauging emotional reactions is a cornerstone of consumer research. The most common way emotions are assessed is self-report. But self-report is notoriously unreliable, and affected by many factors that confound their interpretation. Facial expressions are objective markers of emotional states, and are well grounded in decades of research. Yet, the research documenting the potential utility of facial expressions of emotion as a biometric marker in consumer research is limited. This study addresses this gap, presenting descriptive analyses of the facial expressions of emotion produced in typical consumer research. Surprisingly, the most prevalent expressions produced were disgust and social smiles; smile of true enjoyment were relatively rare. Additionally, expressions were generally of low intensity and very short durations. These findings demonstrate the potential utility for using facial expressions of emotion as markers in consumer research, and suggest that the emotional landscapes of consumers may be different than what is commonly thought