Abstract
A considerable body of literature on the interaction of emotion and cognition suggests that mood states influence a number of cognitive tasks such as evaluation, choice, and information processing (Batra and Stayman 1990; Schwarz and Bless 1991; Hadjimarcou et al. 1996). While these effects have been widely recognized in the context of advertising, product evaluation, and brand attitude formation (Barone et al. 2000; Howard and Barry 1994; Edell and Burke 1987), the effect of mood on consumers’ ability to process nutrition information on food packages or factors that may moderate such relationship has not been fully investigated. This paper examines the role of context-induced mood in consumers’ evaluation of information presented on packaged food products. Results of this research may be of interest to consumer researchers, marketing managers in the food industry, and public policy makers.