Outcomes Are in the Eye of the Beholder

Abstract

The purpose of the current research is to examine the influence of affective dispositions and the sequencing of affective and cognitive responses to mediated entertainment. Affective dispositions are manipulated to match a liked competitor against one who is disliked. The results indicate that viewers’ emotional responses and assessments of satisfaction with a win or loss were dependent on competitor liking. A hedonic reversal occurs in viewer disconfirmation emotions (relief and disappointment) and satisfaction judgments based on outcome desirability. A desirable (undesirable) outcome was one in which a liked (disliked) competitor won, or a disliked (liked) competitor lost. We also found evidence of mediated moderation such that competitor liking moderated the mediating effect of relief and disappointment on outcome satisfaction following an outcome. Outcome satisfaction, conceptualized as a cognitive judgment in our model, was then positively related to viewer enjoyment of the overall experience. Additionally our hypothesized model was found to outperform two competing models. The results elucidate the complex intertwining of affect and cognition in predicting viewer enjoyment of mediated entertainment.