How Emotional Carryover Shapes Future‐Self Continuity and Sustains Consumer Investment Intentions

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Abstract
This study examines how emotionally framed investment messages generate enduring behavioral effects. Drawing on appraisal‐tendency insights and future self‐continuity theory, the study develops a longitudinal model and captures temporal relationships using three‐wave panel data from 714 investors. Our findings show a pronounced temporal carryover effect: early emotional responses continue to shape later affective states even after message framing changes, which indicates that emotion functions as a persistent input rather than a momentary reaction. These evolving emotional states further enhance future self‐continuity, which subsequently strengthens investment intention over time and demonstrates a temporally structured indirect pathway linking emotion to behavior. As exposure continues, the influence of emotion gradually shifts from affect‐driven reactions to identity‐based motivation, suggesting that persuasive effects become increasingly rooted in future‐oriented self‐concepts. By demonstrating that emotions accumulate and restructure how individuals relate their present and future selves, this research challenges static persuasion models and reconceptualizes emotion as a temporally evolving state variable, offering new insight into how sequential marketing messages cultivate lasting engagement.

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