How emotional arousal shapes compromise choice through expected loss representation in consumer decision-making

Clothing 1 is stylish but less fitting, while Clothing 2 fits well but looks outdated; you may ultimately choose Clothing 3, which is more balanced on both attributes – this is the common compromise effect in shopping. However, the environmental factors that promote this effect remain unclear. The present study examined how expected loss (EL) and emotional arousal influence the compromise effect in consumer choice. Experiment 1 replicated the compromise effect and showed that large EL strengthened it relative to small EL, supporting extremeness aversion as an underlying mechanism. Experiment 2 induced arousal through music, whereas Experiments 3a and 3b used multiple shopping scenarios with auditory and visual cues. The results showed that high arousal strengthened the compromise effect under large EL, whereas low arousal strengthened it under small EL. These findings suggest that extremeness aversion underlying the compromise effect is dynamically shaped by EL and emotional arousal.