# Positive Emotions for Responsible Consumption
Through Product Design: A Review

Kassia Silva Zanão, Osíris Canciglieri Junior, Guilherme Brittes Benitez

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Kassia Silva Zanão, Osíris Canciglieri Junior, Guilherme Brittes Benitez. Positive Emotions for Responsible Consumption Through Product Design: A Review. 19th IFIP International Conference on Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Jul 2022, Grenoble, France. pp.443-452, 10.1007/978-3-031-25182-5_43. hal-05420932

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# Positive Emotions for Responsible Consumption Through Product Design: A Review

Kassia Renata da Silva Zanão<fnref n="1" /> ID, Osíris Canciglieri Junior<fnref n="1" /> ID,
and Guilherme Brittes Benitez<fnref n="1" />,<fnref n="2" />(✉) ID

**Abstract.** Stimulating positive emotional experiences in the user that result in a change to responsible consumption behavior is essential to achieve a balance between emotional, social, economic, and environmental aspects. Our goal is through bibliographical research to understand the emotional behavior of the users in relation to their purchase decision making, exploring how positive emotions (vs. negative) can play an environmentally and socially responsible appeal to the consumer. To this end, we propose a conceptual framework that allows visualizing the interaction of positive emotions in the user experience for the promotion of responsible consumption. Future studies are suggested that may help identify the necessary elements for the design and development of products through positive emotions to pursue responsible consumption.

**Keywords:** Positive emotions · Responsible consumption · Emotional experience · User experience · Product design

## 1 Introduction

Emotions can have a great influence on decision making and consumer behavior [1–3], because through them we are prompted to behave by avoiding or approaching a decision. This is already a good reason to justify how important it has been to apply a deep understanding of user emotions to product consumption behavior. However, emotions directly influence usage behavior and the positive quality of user experiences, they foster brand loyalty, product attachment, and can improve users’ physical and mental well-being.

Encouraging conscious consumption of products through positive emotions and an optimistic approach becomes an extremely profitable and beneficial opportunity for all ties involved in the consumption cycle. Through anticipated emotions it is possible for consumers to foresee the positive emotional consequences of the outcome of their decisions.

<footnote n="1">¹ Industrial and Systems Engineering Graduate Program, Polytechnic School, Pontifical Catholic University of Parana (PUCPR), Curitiba, Brazil

guilherme.benitez@pucpr.br</footnote>

<footnote n="2">² Organizational Engineering Group (Núcleo de Engenharia Organizacional – NEO), Department of Industrial Engineering, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil</footnote>
As human beings, we are automatically motivated to make the decisions that bring us the most pleasure. In other words, we almost unconsciously make choices that minimize the possibility of negative emotions, and because of this we see a great several studies portraying how the influence of negative emotions towards a behavior for customers can be the trigger for product consumption [2]. This explains why this negative approach is so widely used both in advertising and marketing content, and as a source of study among researchers in the field of emotional and ethical consumer behavior. Arli et al. [4] specifically studied guilt and shame, and reported that these anticipated negative emotions influence consumers' perceptions of ethical and unethical behavior. Negative emotions, such as disappointment, upset, or guilty, deter consumers from unethical behavior.

Usually when we refer to the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) in product design the main focus happens through negative emotions due to social pressures. Our study looks through another lens, the positivist one, where companies already start from the positive emotional aspects of their customers. Shiota et al. [5], points out in his study that positive emotions can have adaptive behaviors and thus be functional, in the sense of being helpful or having a desirable effect, in several different ways. They increase feelings of well-being, predict positive life outcomes, and may even promote physical health. In contrast, negative emotions can signal danger or loss, promote caution, and mobilize the energy needed to escape or ward off a serious threat.

Therefore, we understand the importance of these approaches in building more environmentally, socially, and emotionally responsible consumers. Conversely, we suggest the best path for product design is rather than preventing unethical behavior is to encourage the ethical behavior. Thus, we are questioning if enterprises which use the studies of positive emotions in relation to the consumption of products, addressing how the need for complete well-being (emotional, social, environmental and economic) affects the user's emotions in order to stimulate a responsible consumption. So, our research question is: it is possible to stimulate the conscious consumption of products by using positive emotional effects as triggers in product design? The following objective was established for this study: to understand the user's emotional behavior when choosing products, exploring how positive emotions can play an environmental and socially responsible role in appealing to the consumer for a more conscious consumption of products.

## 2 Emotional User Experience

We are highly influenced by emotion, both in our interactions with people and with the products we consume. For this reason, the role of positive and negative emotions in human-product interaction and the benefits of consuming products that evoke positive emotions have been widely discussed in the literature. Several studies talk about the ability of products to provoke a diversity of positive emotions; however, despite these emotions being pleasant, each one conveys a different meaning and feeling, which influences people's consumption behavior in different ways [6, 7].

Therefore, a conceptual framework which illustrates the interplay of user emotions in relation to responsible consumption was created. (see Fig. 1). The framework shows the three areas analyzed in this study, the first section addresses the area of user emotions that are both motivators and outcomes of consumption behavior [8], and this is the
main motivator of the study. This section analyzes the user as a consumer and among the various human aspects (body, sensory senses, psyche...), the main focus will be on emotions within the purchase decision making scenario, and these emotions of the consumer at the time of decision making can be positively or negatively driven.

<figure><img src="image_3.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 1. Initial framework of the study concept.</figcaption></figure>

In the second section of the framework, consumption is illustrated, the act of consuming a product, but the cause that this study addresses within the consumption scenario is ethical values as enablers of conscious and responsible shopping and talks about the act of buying a product considering its environmental, social, economic, and personal/emotional impacts [8, 9]. The link of the first section (user emotions) with the second section (responsible consumption) happens through the proposition of this study, that positive (vs. negative) emotions can act as better causers of responsible consumption.

This proposal about positive emotions being better stimulators, demonstrates the consequence that can be achieved through user experience, represented in the third section of the framework. This experience is the result of the user's interaction with the artifact, before, during, and after use. Experiences are people's perceptions and responses resulting from the use of a product, considering emotions, beliefs, preferences, physical and psychological responses, behaviors, and achievements [10]. When the user's experience is affected through a positivist communication and stimulates in the user a positive feeling in relation to the product and the company's brand, the bond becomes something more intense, and a change of habits for the responsible consumption of other products happens, and this can generate long-term impacts. This whole scenario of change for the responsible consumption behavior of products through positive emotions can bring the user emotional, social, economic, and environmental well-being.
## 2.1 Emotions as Motivators of Decision Making

Studies from affective neuroscience and psychology have reported that human affect and emotional experience play a significant and useful role in human decision making for product success [11]. Knutson et al. [12] reveal that it is possible to predict which was the motivation for consumer decision making by observing which area of the brain was most active when considering a purchase, through brain images which show a choice happens between two opposite feelings, the pleasure of owning and the pain of spending the money. This is because in relation to consumer behavior, positive feelings (such as pleasure and happiness) are linked to the propensity to approach, and negative feelings (such as pain and guilt) are linked to the propensity to avoid.

Mogilner et al. [13] bring the definition of happiness and how this feeling can affect consumer choice. Individuals tend to choose more interesting options when focusing on the future, and more calming options when focusing on the present. Given this, the question raised in their study is whether happiness actually drives purchasing, or whether this depends on what happiness means to each individual. The authors conclude that it seems to be the temporal focus, rather than age itself, that changes individuals’ experiences of happiness. In addition, it is important to incorporate the distinction between exciting and calming activities, along with the temporal focus, to get a more assertive view of happiness. And the results of the experiments reveal that the specific meaning of happiness that individuals adopt determines the choices they make. The work by McFerran et al. [14] brings pride as the protagonist and analyzes why consumers buy luxury brands and proposes two distinct faces of this feeling in consumption: authentic pride (achievement and confidence) which leads to a desire for luxury brands and arrogant pride (arrogance and pretension) is the result of these purchases and is the form of pride signaled to observers by these purchases. An interesting finding, they make is that even if the purchase is made with authentic pride motivation it can give rise to another, presumably less desirable form, the arrogant pride.

Chethana et al. [15] say that each specific emotion is associated with a set of cognitive evaluations that drive the influence of emotion on decision making through differentiated psychological mechanisms. In other words, when relating consumer decision making to emotions, emotional influences can be divided between those that are triggered by marketing appeals intended to influence the decision (integral emotions) and those that are already part of a particular decision (incidental emotions). Emotion plays a significant role in linking consumers to products; a purchase motivated by emotional satisfaction is more likely to result in the possession of durable goods for longer periods [16].

Studies point out that it is not only experienced emotions that affect consumer decision-making, but anticipated emotions can also have great effects on cognitive processing [2]. Establishing how emotions are directly linked to the products that are consumed is key to explaining how consumer behavior can be detrimental not only to the user's emotional well-being, but also to social, environmental, and economic well-being. Thus, understanding how emotions affect the user's decision making helps us diagnose a much more intimate consumption behavior, and more focused on the main element of the relationship, the human being. Then, the next step is to use this resource in a way that brings benefits to companies and the economy, but mainly, that brings benefits to the user's emotional health and to achieve sustainability during the process.
# 3 Interaction of Emotions with Responsible Consumption

Excessive consumption is one of the greatest causes of the problems of contemporary society. In the last year, Brazilian people consumed 74% more natural resources than the planet can regenerate [17]. This scenario reinforces the importance of encouraging consumers to be more aware and responsible of what they are buying. They should consider that everything they consume is part of a context that involves production, purchase, use, and disposal, and that besides bringing consequences (positive or negative) to themselves, it also affects the economy, society, and especially the environment. Conscious (or ethical) consumption is a social movement based on the impact of purchasing decisions on the environment, health, and consumer well-being [18]. Long et al. [19] define ethical consumption as "*the act of buying products that have additional attributes (e.g., social, environmental, political, health, etc.) beyond their immediate use value, to signify commitment to their values and/or support changes in unfair market practices)*".

Many researchers have explored the relationship between emotion and sustainable consumption behavior, and the results clearly show that the former has a remarkable impact on the latter [20]. Escadas et al. [2] found in their study that more than feeling good, consumers do not want to feel bad, this makes ethically favorable decisions more practiced to avoid experiencing negative emotions in the future. A wide range of positive and negative emotions have been considered in relation to their influence on ethical decision making [21].

Emotions are both the generators and the outcomes of ethical and unethical behavior [8]. Ethical values are increasingly the key drivers of purchasing decisions [9]. Winterich et al. [22] talk about unethical judgments and the crucial role of emotions in forming moral judgments about ethical behaviors. Arli et al. [4] specifically studied guilt and shame, and reported these anticipated negative emotions influence consumers' perceptions of ethical and unethical behavior. Negative emotions, such as feeling disappointed, upset, or guilty, deter consumers from unethical behavior.

We understand the importance of these approaches through negative emotions in building more environmentally, socially, and emotionally responsible consumers, but suggest that the best path lies on a fine line, where more important than preventing unethical behavior is to encourage ethical behavior. Therefore, we understand a company/consumer relationship that starts with a positive feeling is the primary basis for building trust and loyalty and consequently help the firm to achieve better results. Thus, we propose that positive emotional approaches may have as much effectiveness in stimulating conscious consumption behavior as negative emotional approaches.

# 4 Methodology

The Systematic Literature Review was conducted with a focus on the emotional user experience and responsible consumption. The main intent is to understand the user's emotional behavior in relation to their purchase decision making, exploring how positive (vs. negative) emotions can play an environmental and socially responsible appeal on the consumer.

The literature review methodology applied was based on Unruh [23] and the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) model, as
described and illustrated in Fig. 2, in 10 steps. The first step was the definition of the research problem, which was to understand how design can stimulate the conscious consumption of products through the bias of emotional values, in order to generate a better emotional experience in the user. The second step was to objectify the research in order to understand the user's emotional behavior when choosing products, exploring how positive emotions can play an environmental and socially responsible role in appealing to the consumer for a more conscious consumption of products.

<figure><img src="image_4.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 2. Literature review process.</figcaption></figure>

The third step was to define the macro keywords of the research: emotions, responsible consumption and user experience. The fourth step was the initial research, searches were conducted in the Scopus and Web of Science databases making the following crossings: 1. emotion* and conscious consumption; 2. emotion* and user experience; 3. emotion* and conscious consumption and user experience. The fifth step considered some correlated words of the research, such as: emotional experience, emotional design, positive emotions, negative emotions, conscious consumption, conscious behavior, ethical consumption, green consumption, product design, product experience, user centered design, experience design.

The sixth step was to conduct further research by cross-referencing the words, only articles in English, from the last 10 years, and peer-reviewed were considered. The seventh step was the definition of the inclusion criteria (address the theme of user emotions in the title; depth of the theme responsible consumption in its abstract). The eighth step is the definition of exclusion criteria (having the focus on consumption of food, services, or digital products; superficial or secondary approach to user emotions; not having access to the full text online).

The ninth step included articles from previous studies and results obtained from other sources (as suggested in the PRISMA model). At the end of this process, 25 articles were selected and then the research was conducted by reading and analyzing the selected articles. And finally, the tenth step was the synthesis of the articles, analysis and organization of the results obtained in data tables to define the main gaps in the studies that will serve as opportunities to advance knowledge in the area.
# 5 Results

The business market has already understood that one should not value only the economic aspect, because the customer, despite considering this aspect important, lately has highlighted the need for more care with the environmental and social issues, when related to their purchasing decision power, and this responsible positioning of the consumer directly impacts their emotional well-being. Therefore, when this responsible stimulus comes from designers, even if by pressure from stakeholders, the bond that is established becomes something much more comprehensive.

As previously mentioned, many studies not only from the areas of product design and production engineering, but also from marketing, psychology, neuroscience, and administration for example, have already shown a growing interest in the area of user emotions in relation to their consumption behavior. Donald Norman [24] lists three emotional levels that a well-designed product needs to achieve to be successful: beauty (visceral level), fun (behavioral level) and pleasure (reflective level). Visceral design is about appearances, behavioral design is about enjoyment and effectiveness in use, and reflective design considers the rationalization and intellectualization of a product. Each of the three levels of design plays its part in shaping our experience, and each level requires a different style of design. Tavares [25] proposes a methodology that serves to evaluate and translate the cognitive and affective experience of the product into consumer demands to better understand the cognitive and affective dimensions of consumers and the resulting purchase intention. The author's results show that product affectivity is important when what is being measured is its hedonism. Whereas the product's cognitiveness is important when its functionality is being measured. But few studies focus only on positive emotions.

Many studies in production engineering and product design also explore the development of new products aligned with sustainability and the stimulation of responsible consumption, as this is notably increasingly a major concern of the population. The survey conducted by Akatu [17] investigated the evolution of Brazilians' level of awareness in consumption behavior, quantitatively presenting the main challenges, motivations, and barriers to the practice of conscious consumption. The vast majority of respondents stated that they feel more motivated to join the practice of conscious consumption when motivated by emotional triggers, especially when related to other people who feel affection, than by more concrete and self-centered triggers. The study also pointed out that many people don't even know how to explain what sustainability is, and that the main barriers to a more responsible consumption of products are related to the high cost of more sustainable products, the distrust in the credibility of brands, and the need for effort to change habits.

However, there are very few methodologies in Product Design aiming to unite the concepts of emotional user experience and responsible consumption. The following framework presents the opportunity found for future studies within the area of Product Design, User Experience with a focus on the emotional user experience and responsible consumption of products (see Fig. 3).

The first section of the framework illustrates Product Development that considers the user experience in its process and aims to encourage sustainability for both production and consumption. This development process is based primarily on the user's positive
emotions. Its development happens under three main perspectives: analysis of the main emotional barriers to responsible product consumption; analysis of the main emotional triggers; and survey of the benefits achieved.

<figure><img src="image_5.png" /><figcaption>Fig. 3. Barriers, triggers and benefits of responsible consumption through positive emotions.</figcaption></figure>

The second section brings the three steps to be considered in this product devel-
opment, firstly one must adapt to the responsible consumption concepts, respecting its
environmental, social, economic, and emotional attributes, the second step is to identify
the main barriers. Several studies point out the barriers to responsible consumption of
products [1, 4, 17], in general, these barriers that users often highlight are related to the
need for cognitive, behavioral and financial effort (doubts about product quality, need
to understand environmental issues, need for a daily change of habits, higher cost of
sustainable products), distrust in companies in the government and in the products (the
user concludes that it is no use just doing his part if for him the government and the
companies are not totally transparent, the neighbors and close friends do not consider
the theme relevant, the products do not seem to have the same quality as those the user
is used to), the deprivation of daily pleasures (giving up products that offer small plea-
sures for environmental responsibility is a barrier that may affect the beginning of the
acceptance of responsible consumption).

And the third step is to use the main triggers that influence conscious consumption,
these are also explored in the literature [5, 14, 15]. The emotional ones include mainly
aspects that concern the neighbor (contribute to a better future for my family, build a
better world, opportunity to evolve as a human being, I give up small pleasures thinking
of the good of all, a way of making a positive difference to the world), while the con-
crete aspects are more related to the benefits of responsible consumption itself (financial
benefits, practicality and comfort in the routine, prevent reprimands from third parties,
health benefits). In general, adherence to responsible consumption of products happens
much more through emotional triggers, through positive emotions. This evidence serves
as great support for the evolution of the current research, since it is the emotional trig-
gers and benefits that most fuel responsible consumption, making it extremely possible
that positive (vs. negative) emotions may in fact be more efficient as motivators for responsible product consumption.

The benefits reach four fundamental pillars for the balance of well-being: personal (emotional, mental, and physical well-being), social (community incentives, engagement), economic (customer satisfaction, brand loyalty) and environmental (improved resource consumption, preservation of the environment).

# 6 Conclusion

This article identified positive emotions as the main motivators of conscious and responsible product consumption. During the process a conceptual framework was built, which helps to visualize the fundamental aspects of product design through the user's emotional experience, providing a broader view of the consumption scenario and guidelines that relate to the application to product design.

From this analysis, some study opportunities were verified for the development of products that seek positive and optimistic emotional results. A first opportunity for study is to understand in more depth the barriers and triggers of responsible consumption behavior, since these are essential mechanisms for understanding purchase decision making. In addition, another opportunity is to deepen the understanding of positive emotions, approaching quantitatively which ones are more influential when faced with responsible consumption. It is still possible to highlight a final opportunity with the multidisciplinary of the proposed study, which encompasses the areas of design, engineering, marketing, sociology, and psychology, mainly because modeling the user's affect is a challenging task due to the complexity of understanding the resources of individuals and their subjectivity, involving interdisciplinary studies is essential for a complete approach and understanding.

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