Companies treat measurable emotion as a predictor of spending and profit

Evidence

Clients are advised to “play your audience emotions to stay on top of the game.” The company’s website offers a brief review of the history of research on human emotions, concluding that “the more people feel, the more they spend.… Intangible ‘emotions’ translate into concrete social activity, brand awareness, and profit.” — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 883

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the book’s core behavioral-surplus thesis: emotion now converted into a prediction commodity for advertising. — connects to: Corporate and defense funding followed academic personality-prediction research. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 857; Measurable personality traits predict consumer responses and are farmed for profit. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 864; Affective computing treats unconscious emotions as measurable behavioral signals. — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 888 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Affective computing treats unconscious emotions as measurable behavioral signals. #expands (0.80) — Shoshana Zuboff, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, 888