Do Positive Emotions Change What You Click On? | Marketing Research with Dr. Sarah Whitley

Dr. Sarah Whitley, Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business, joins us to discuss her research, "Positive Emotions During Search Engine Use: How You Feel Impacts What You Search for and Click On." In her research, "Positive Emotions During Search Engine Use: How You Feel Impacts What You Search for and Click On," Dr. Sarah Whitley, along with co-researchers Dr. Anindita Chakravarty and Dr. Pengyuan Wang, explores how incidental positive emotions, feelings unrelated to the search task itself. shape the way people interact with search engines. The study, drawing on approximately 50 million archival search queries, reveals that users in a positive mood are more likely to describe products using emotionally positive keywords such as "exciting," "joyful," or "inspiring," and are subsequently more inclined to click on advertisements. Notably, positive emotion queries demonstrated a 2% higher click-through rate compared to neutral queries, a seemingly modest figure that translates into thousands of additional clicks at scale. The research also uncovers a key psychological mechanism: positive emotions reduce users' skepticism toward advertising, not by making them unaware of ads, but by lowering their perception of manipulative intent what Dr. Whitley describes as a "rose-colored glasses" effect. For marketers, these findings present a valuable and largely untapped opportunity, particularly during high-mood periods such as weekends and holidays, and across hedonic product categories like entertainment, clothing, and dining. This podcast is brought to you by Global Management Consultancy. For more information, please visit www.globalmanagementconsultancy.com. Disclaimer: A. The background music incorporated in this video is the intellectual property of its respective developer and is protected under applicable copyright laws. Notwithstanding that it is a free-to-use version, Business Talk, Global Management Consultancy, and Deepak Bhatt do not own, and expressly do not claim, any rights, title, or interest in or to this music. B. Dr. Sarah Whitley joined the Business Talk podcast for an engaging conversation, sharing key insights from her research, "Positive Emotions During Search Engine Use: How You Feel Impacts What You Search for and Click On." The uploaded video contains copyrighted content, so changing any graphics, music, or on-screen appearance of the author or host is not allowed.