How incidental emotions affect self-control: a review of research
| Emotion investigated | Description of major findings | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Stress | Stress triggers a need for control, motivating consumers to save more money | Durante and Laran, 2016 |
| Sadness and guilt | Sadness induces a cortisol increase, which fuels a desire for sugar, a link not observed with guilt | Lefebvre et al., 2019 |
| Sadness and disgust | Sadness, unlike disgust, fosters impatience, thus increasing the choice for immediate, smaller monetary rewards over delayed, larger rewards | Lerner et al., 2013 |
| Sadness | Sad consumers are more likely to consume indulgent foods | Garg et al., 2007 |
| Happiness | Positive (negative) moods promote the adoption (rejection) of accessible goals. Thus, if the self-improvement goal is accessible, happiness (vs neutral or unhappiness) increases self-control. Conversely, if the mood management goal is accessible, happiness increases pleasure-seeking and hurts self-control | Fishbach and Labroo, 2007 |
| Sadness | If the hedonic eating goal is salient, sadness triggers a shift away from seeking pleasure toward the counterbalancing goal of preventing future losses, leading to increased self-control (i.e. lower unhealthy eating) | Salerno et al., 2014 |
| Sadness | Sadness makes consumers feel helpless, thereby decreasing their self-control (e.g. leading them to eat more unhealthy foods) | Garg and Lerner, 2013 |
| High arousal emotions | Positive moods don’t always increase self-control. Coupled with heightened arousal (e.g. excitement), they deplete cognitive resources required to resist temptation, lowering self-control | Fedorikhin and Patrick, 2010 |
| Pride | A bifurcated effect of pride on self-control is observed: when pride increases self-awareness, it promotes long-term goal pursuit and self-control, whereas when construed as a signal of achievement, it licenses gratification | Wilcox et al., 2011; Salerno et al., 2015 |
| Negative emotion | The aversive nature of negative emotions activates the hedonic need, weakening impulse control | Tice et al., 2001 |
| Hope | Positive, future-focused emotions, such as hope, are more likely than present-focused emotions, such as pride or happiness, to activate the desire to achieve long-term goals and enhance self-control | Winterich and Haws, 2011 |
| Guilt and shame | Guilt's tendency to focus on gains means framing self-control as beneficial is more effective than framing indulgence as harmful. Conversely, shame's tendency to focus on losses makes it more effective to frame gratification as harmful than to frame self-control as beneficial | Duhachek et al., 2012 |
| Guilt | Guilt, unlike sadness, envy, shame and embarrassment, triggers a desire for self-improvement, thus strengthening self-control | Allard and White, 2015; Zemack-Rugar et al., 2007 |
| Bad mood | Individuals experiencing bad moods are more prone to seeking emotional comfort through unplanned consumption of treats (i.e. retail therapy) | Atalay and Meloy, 2011 |
| Nostalgia | Feeling nostalgic (vs neutral) increases consumers' perception of social support, in turn increasing their self-control resources and, consequently, healthy eating | Lasaleta et al., 2021 |
| Anger | Angry consumers are more likely to exert self-control when it is framed as offering dominance benefits rather than other benefits (e.g. exercising to get stronger rather than to prevent disease) | Koley and Warren, 2025 |
| Emotion investigated | Description of major findings | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Stress | Stress triggers a need for control, motivating consumers to save more money | |
| Sadness and guilt | Sadness induces a cortisol increase, which fuels a desire for sugar, a link not observed with guilt | |
| Sadness and disgust | Sadness, unlike disgust, fosters impatience, thus increasing the choice for immediate, smaller monetary rewards over delayed, larger rewards | |
| Sadness | Sad consumers are more likely to consume indulgent foods | |
| Happiness | Positive (negative) moods promote the adoption (rejection) of accessible goals. Thus, if the self-improvement goal is accessible, happiness (vs neutral or unhappiness) increases self-control. Conversely, if the mood management goal is accessible, happiness increases pleasure-seeking and hurts self-control | |
| Sadness | If the hedonic eating goal is salient, sadness triggers a shift away from seeking pleasure toward the counterbalancing goal of preventing future losses, leading to increased self-control (i.e. lower unhealthy eating) | |
| Sadness | Sadness makes consumers feel helpless, thereby decreasing their self-control (e.g. leading them to eat more unhealthy foods) | |
| High arousal emotions | Positive moods don’t always increase self-control. Coupled with heightened arousal (e.g. excitement), they deplete cognitive resources required to resist temptation, lowering self-control | |
| Pride | A bifurcated effect of pride on self-control is observed: when pride increases self-awareness, it promotes long-term goal pursuit and self-control, whereas when construed as a signal of achievement, it licenses gratification | |
| Negative emotion | The aversive nature of negative emotions activates the hedonic need, weakening impulse control | |
| Hope | Positive, future-focused emotions, such as hope, are more likely than present-focused emotions, such as pride or happiness, to activate the desire to achieve long-term goals and enhance self-control | |
| Guilt and shame | Guilt's tendency to focus on gains means framing self-control as beneficial is more effective than framing indulgence as harmful. Conversely, shame's tendency to focus on losses makes it more effective to frame gratification as harmful than to frame self-control as beneficial | |
| Guilt | Guilt, unlike sadness, envy, shame and embarrassment, triggers a desire for self-improvement, thus strengthening self-control | |
| Bad mood | Individuals experiencing bad moods are more prone to seeking emotional comfort through unplanned consumption of treats (i.e. retail therapy) | |
| Nostalgia | Feeling nostalgic (vs neutral) increases consumers' perception of social support, in turn increasing their self-control resources and, consequently, healthy eating | |
| Anger | Angry consumers are more likely to exert self-control when it is framed as offering dominance benefits rather than other benefits (e.g. exercising to get stronger rather than to prevent disease) |
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