In Study 4, we aim to show that when consumers are in a
state of deactivation, the amount of time they spend watching
highly energetic commercials depends on their need for
cognition (H4a and H4b). This result would not only provide
evidence for our underlying process but also highlight that
there are individual differences in people’s propensity to
respond negatively to highly energetic commercials, which
is a relevant insight for managers. We expect that when
people low in need for cognition are in a state of deactivation,
they will spend less time watching a highly energetic
commercial compared with those who are not in a state of
deactivation (H4a). However, we do not expect there to be
differences in viewing times for people high in need for
cognition who experienced a deactivating emotion compared
with those who did not experience a deactivating
emotion (H4b). Finally, to extend our findings, we also
induce another deactivating emotion, contentment, which is
a positive emotion that is characterized by a state of deactivation
(Barrett and Russell 1998). Research has found contentment
to be an important driver of behavior that is distinct
from other positive emotions (Griskevicius, Shiota,
and Nowlis 2010)