Semester

Spring

Date of Graduation

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

College of Business and Economics

Department

Marketing

Committee Chair

Julian Givi

Committee Co-Chair

Paula Fitzgerald

Committee Member

Emily Tanner

Committee Member

Colleen P. Kirk

Abstract

ABSTRACT

GREED, GUILT, AND GENERATIVE AI: EMOTIONAL DYNAMICS IN DIGITAL CONSUMER INTERACTIONS

Danielle Hass

Digital consumer interactions are increasingly shaped by complex emotional dynamics. As digital platforms and Generative AI (GenAI) technologies proliferate in our everyday lives, it is critical to understand the emotional undercurrents and how they impact consumer behavior. This dissertation investigates these dynamics through three essays that explore how emotions impact consumer experiences in digital spaces, with an overall goal to offer theoretical and practical insights into the interaction of human psychology and technological advancement in the consumer behavior field.

Essay One examines the paradox of pleasure and pain in online brand communities, where collectors grapple with the opposing forces of desire and ethical resistance against speculators. Drawing on paradox theory and the hedonic principle, this study reveals how emotional pain arises when collectors confront speculators who exploit scarcity, forcing a tension between the joy of collecting and the moral rejection of speculative practices. Findings highlight strategies for marketers to address these tensions.

Essay Two shifts focus to the moral emotions experienced when using GenAI. Specifically, this essay investigates guilt stemming from its use in heartfelt consumer-to-consumer communications. Findings demonstrate that consumers experience guilt when using GenAI for emotionally laden messages, as they perceive such acts as dishonest. Five experiments reveal that guilt intensifies when messages target close (vs. distant) recipients and attenuates when messages remain undelivered. Additionally, we find that GenAI elicits guilt when a friend also writes the message on behalf of the sender. In sum, this research emphasizes the need for honesty in AI-mediated interactions.

Essay Three explores how GenAI modalities shape social presence, comparing text-based and voice-based interactions. While prior work has largely focused on the capabilities of GenAI systems, this essay shifts attention to the psychological experiences they evoke, particularly in terms of how socially present these systems feel to users. This research identifies warmth as a key mechanism through which voice responses enhance perceived social presence. That is, this heightened sense of presence is driven not by utility, but rather by the emotional resonance and richness of paralinguistic cues conveyed through voice. This essay offers valuable insights for developers seeking to enhance consumer experiences with GenAI.

Collectively, this dissertation advances the understanding of emotional dynamics in digital consumer interactions. The findings enrich theories of paradox, moral emotion, and human-computer interaction while offering practical strategies for stakeholders navigating the ethical and experiential challenges of GenAI. By illuminating both the dark and light sides of digital consumption, this research appeals to scholars and practitioners in consumer behavior, technology ethics, branding, and GenAI design, charting a path toward a more emotionally intelligent digital ecosystem.

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