We humans have a broad range of emotions, many are in conflict with each other. For example, when something shiny and new appears, we may feel curiosity and some low level fear at the same time. When interacting with someone of the same sex, the term 'frenemy' cannot be a better description of our internal conflicts . On one hand, we have powerful emotions driving us to form relationships and belong. On the other hand, we have equally powerful emotions to driving us to compete with the same sex for status, or ultimately for mates.
These internal emotional conflicts, arguably, are the roots of our decision making. Without internal emotional conflicts there are no decisions to make - we just do it. Conflicting emotions are the fundamental cause of our deliberations, indecisions, rationalizations, and all the fun stuff that makes us 'irrational' consumers.
For marketers, the key to pursuasion is to nudge the emotional balance towards the side that motivates positive action. In many of the new product concepts we have studied, hope and doubt are frequent strong underlying emotions. Consumers really hope that the product will work (solve their need) but at the same time, feel skeptical that it will. These are very strong emotions which, if remain unresolved, will lead to avoidance, indecision, and inaction.
Another conflict we frequently illuminate is want and shame - huge tension between the desire for physiological pleasures (dopamine and seratonin hit) and the desire to avoid lowering social stature. Ask anyone how eating a decadent dessert makes them feel, and there is a great chance you will trigger want and shame.
Since emotions are triggered by an individual's assocation with prior experiences, the big opportunity for marketers is to understand what associations consumers are making with a new product concept. Are they associating a concept with other products that evokes shame? If so, what elements of the concept is triggering this association? By understanding the underlying associations, marketers can effectively change the emotional response to a concept and minimize the internal conflicts.
