Emotional Territories

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Emotional Territories (2015) is a novel method for measuring emotions and presenting the results. It complements influential theories of emotion (such as Plutchik's Circular Model of Emotion, 1980). The background to the development of emotional territories is the assumption that emotional brands have a significant influence on consumers (emotional branding). At the same time, there has been a lack of scientifically founded value and emotion management procedures.

Related theories of emotion

A considerable number of scales for measuring emotions exist within the psychology and consumer behavior literature as well as the marketing literature (Hansen & Lundsteen, 2006). Robert Plutchik (1980) was able to show in his theory “Circular Model of Emotion” that basic emotions can be combined with one another to create new ones. For example, love can be understood as the interplay of joy and trust.

David Aaker and colleagues (1988) developed a conceptual approach with which the representation of all characteristic emotions should be ensured in the observation. The emotions that can be evoked by advertising or brands were particularly relevant. To achieve this, Aaker et al. a list made up of known framework theories (Plutchik's 40 Emotionen, 1980; Smith and Elssworths 15 Emotionen, 1985; Davitz's 80 Emotionen, 1970) and perception studies (Aaker and Bruzzone's List of 20 Adjectives, 1981; Schlinger's 32 Opinions, 1979; 600 Adjectives from Wells, Leavitt, and McConville, 1971). Subsequently, the emotions that are most relevant to the marketing literature were taken from this extensive list and divided into positive and negative feelings. Within the two groups (positive, negative), emotions that were similar to one another were summarized and then assigned a heading. This should capture the core of the category centrally. For example, “fascinated”, “impressed” and “attentive” shape the group “interested”. The result was a compressed list consisting of 180 terms, which in turn can be summarized in 31 emotion groups (16 positive and 15 negative). For a more detailed explanation of the method, see Aaker et al. (1988).

Emotional Territories

For the Emotional Territories tool, Aaker's list was initially compressed from 180 emotions to 50 as part of Supersieben's research. In addition, a list consisting of emotions and values ​​is used, as these are closely linked. According to Todd (2014) “emotions are [...] judgments of values”. Also, the Emotional Territories approach focuses on positive emotions and lists few negative emotions. This starting point was chosen from the conviction that the absence of positive emotions (i.e. a low positive emotion value of a brand) implies negative feelings and can be understood as an independent statement. This is also a modification of the original theory by Aaker et al. (1988). This contained a balanced number of both positive and negative emotions.

The measurement method

Rossiter and Bellman (2005) describe two types of emotions and how they are measured. The following descriptions are important to understand the implications for the Emotional Territories tool and its application.

Type 1 and Type 2 emotions

Rossiter and Bellman (2005) differentiate between type 1 (E1) and type 2 emotions (E2). Type 1 emotions are instinctive reactions and consist of “pleasure”, “arousal” and “dominance” (PAD: Russel & Feldman Barrett, 1999). In the course of a single day, an individual can experience a variety of Type 1 emotions, which at times evoke physiological responses. These can be measured with the help of psychophysical measurement methods, such as B. the Galvanometric Skin Response (GSR) can be measured. Type 2 emotions, on the other hand, are extreme forms of type 1 emotions that the individual usually associates with a conscious assessment.

These conscious evaluations answer the simple question: "What am I feeling right now?" For example, the answer could be “joy”, “fear” or “love”. Consequently, type 2 emotions cannot be recorded using a psychophysiological method. Instead, researchers have to rely on self-assessments - typically using a questionnaire.

Rossiter and Bellman (2007) argue that type 2 emotions - in contrast to type 1 emotions - are not continuous, but rather discrete (exemplified by the expressions “all or nothing”, “yes or no”). They must therefore be measured in binary.

Type 2 emotions can be measured with a simple binary question (“Feel this emotion - yes or no”). In order to make a statement about whether a certain emotion is associated with a brand or not, the Emotional Territories tool follows the principle of measuring type 2 emotions.

Emotion grades

In addition to his concept of typing emotions, Bellman (2007) argues that there are certain degrees of Type 2 emotions. These can be understood as gradations within certain emotional areas. For example, have you ever wondered what makes “angry” different from “very angry”? The heightening of an emotion is caused when it is in conflict with another emotion. This is exemplified by a conflict between anger and love. The feeling of being very angry can therefore arise when a loved one has behaved inappropriately. In this case, increased anger results precisely from the existence of love.

This implies that merging two emotions results in an entirely new emotion. Because of this, when determining what kind of love a consumer feels for a particular brand, it is of fundamental importance to also consider the emotions that are closest to it.

It is the combination of emotions that creates new dimensions. Taking this assumption into account, the list of 50 emotions and values ​​expands to 1032 new possible combinations of emotions.

method

1,000 test persons are recruited to take part in a web-based self-report study. As part of the online questionnaire, study participants answer a simple binary question (“Do you feel this emotion when they think of xx? - yes or no”) while being shown 50 emotions and values ​​in randomized order. This generates around 50,000 data points. These are then translated into 3 to 6 value fields by an algorithm.

Analyze data points

The generated data points are analyzed by an algorithm developed by Supersieben, which was carried out with the support of Dr. T. Meyhöfer (University of Münster, 2015) has been implemented.

In order to increase the understanding of how the algorithm works, it is helpful to derive the procedure from a situation in everyday life. For example, if you decide to buy a product on Amazon, you will then receive an e-mail with further product recommendations: “Customers who bought the Philips HUE LED lamp also bought these products: Philips Hue LightStrips, Reality Light, Wireless Dimming Kit etc. "

The algorithm also uses a comparable method: those participants who associate love with a certain brand also associate joy, friendship, curiosity and creativity with this brand. Emotions that are linked to one another form a so-called value field.

Value fields

While quantitative methods were initially used in the course of the analysis, qualitative methods are used to interpret the generated value fields. The application of qualitative methods offers the possibility of gaining knowledge that cannot be achieved with quantitative methods (Gaur, Herjanto, Makkar, 2014). In principle, each value field is given a label that summarizes the essence of the field on the basis of specific proximity-distance relationships.

Value fields can be examined in different ways - either by looking at the range of fields in their entirety (broad) or by looking at the different angles within a field (deep) (Woods, 2001).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Walter, T. & YouGov: The discovery of the emotional knowledge gap. YouGov and Supersieben, July 2015, accessed March 1, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Hansen F., Lundsteen S .: Outstanding Brands "Emotionally Speaking" . Ed .: European Advances in Consumer Research. 7th edition. 2006, p. 511-515 .
  3. ↑ a b Plutchik, R .: Emotion: A psychorevolutionary synthesis . Ed .: New York: Harper & Row. 1980.
  4. ↑ a b c Aaker, DA, Stayman, DM, Vezina, R .: Identifying Feelings Elicited by Advertising . Ed .: Psychology & Marketing. 5th edition. 1988, p. 1-16 .
  5. ^ Smith, CA & Ellsworth, PC: Patterns of cognitive approaches in emotion . Ed .: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 48th edition. 1985, p. 813-838 .
  6. ↑ Davitz JR: A Dictionary and Grammar of Emotion . In: ML Arnold (Ed.): Feelings and emotions: The Loyola symposium . New York: Academic Press, 1970, pp. 251-258 .
  7. ^ Aaker, DA, Bruzzone, DE: Viewer perceptions of prime-time television advertising . Ed .: Journal of Advertising Research. 21st edition. 1981, p. 15-23 .
  8. ^ Schlinger, MJ: A profile of responses to commercials . Ed .: Journals of Advertising Research. 19th edition. 1979, p. 37-46 .
  9. ^ Wells, WD, Leavitt, C., McConville, M .: A reaction profile for TV commercials . Ed .: Journal of Advertising Research. 11th edition. 1971, p. 11-15 .
  10. ↑ Kuehlkamp, N .: The Science Behind Emotional Territories. Retrieved November 1, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Todd, C .: Emotion and Value . Ed .: Philosophy Compass. 11th edition. 2014, p. 702-712 .
  12. ^ A b Rossiter, JR & Bellman, S .: Marketing communications: Theory and applications . Ed .: Pearson Prentice-Hall. French Forest, NSW, Australia.
  13. ↑ Russel, JA, Feldman Barrett, L .: Core affect, prototypical emotional episodes, and other things called emotion: Dissecting the elephant . Ed .: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 76th edition. 1999, p. 805-819 .
  14. ^ Rossiter, JR & Bellman, S .: Do the new "branding" concepts add to the prediction of brand-loyal behavior? Ed .: American Academy of Advertising Conference Proceedings. 2007, p. 15-16 .
  15. ↑ Bellman, S .: Theory and Measurement of Type 1 and Type 2 Emotions . Ed .: Australasian Marketing Journal. 15th edition. 2007, p. 14-22 .
  16. ↑ Gaur, SS, Herjanto, H., Makkar, M .: Review of emotions research in marketing . Ed .: Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 21st edition. 2014, p. 917-923 .
  17. ↑ Woods, R .: Exploring the emotional territory for brands . Ed .: Journal of Consumer Behavior. 3. Edition. 2001, p. 1479-1838 .