The relationship between emotional states and approach or avoidance responses in a retail environment

This study tests several aspects of the Mehrabian-Russell environmental psychology model in a retail environment. In the study we will examine the unidimensionality, construct validity, reliability and discriminant validity of measures of the relationship between the emotional states (pleasure and arousal) induced in a retail environment and the behavioural intentions (approach-avoidance) in that environment. The results indicate that the two independent constructs (pleasure and arousal) are highly correlated. Confirmatory factor analysis results seem to indicate that many of the original measures of pleasure and arousal are not very good indicators for the underlying constructs: unidimensionality of certain measures is problematic. We also focus on the 'bidirectional' effect of pleasure and arousal or the conditional interaction between pleasure and arousal in determining approach-avoidance intentions. We do not find support for this hypothesis.