Seeing What You Believe? Selective Exposure to Post-Purchase Electronic Word-of-Mouth
(A2026-132900)

AUTHORS

Agnieszka Kacprzak, University of Warsaw; Lalin Anik, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Katarzyna Dziewanowska, University of Warsaw; Krzysztof Nowak, University of Warsaw

ABSTRACT

Post-purchase exposure to electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) remains an underexplored domain in consumer research, where motivations for review selection shift from decision-making to self-validation. Grounded in selective exposure and motivated reasoning theory, this study examines how consumers visually process post-purchase eWOM. Using eye-tracking and facial emotion data, we test how satisfaction shapes attention to confirming or disconfirming reviews. Results show a confirmation bias in service context and a negativity bias in product context. Self-confidence modulates this effect, amplifying congruent attention for service but promoting openness to disconfirmation for product. In contrast, product involvement consistently reinforces confirmation bias across both brand types. Emotional variability rises when attention contradicts prior satisfaction, revealing an affective route to dissonance regulation. These findings deepen understanding of post-purchase eWOM processing and its emotional underpinnings.