Emotions and their impact on the brand: a neuroscientific analysis of trust and social media content sharing in generation Z

This study intends to use neuroscience tools such as eye tracking and facial expression analysis to further explore Generation Z's emotional responses to negative stimuli on social media. Particular emphasis is placed on negative emotions such as anger, contempt, fear, sadness and disgust and their impact on brand trust. The main objective of the research is to analyze how negative user-generated content (UGC) affect users' emotions, trust, and willingness to share content while also examining brands' strategies for responding to this content. With the increasing importance of digital marketing, understanding these emotional responses is crucial for brands to refine their online communication strategies and strengthen consumer trust. The findings of our study indicate that brand feedback does not mitigate the impact of negative emotions from negative UGC. Although most negative emotions did not have a statistically significant impact on trust and intention to share a post, we found that when it comes to trust, there is a noticeable mitigation of the impact of negative emotions. The emotion of disgust was significant for intent to share, and we observed a strong positive relationship between trust and intent to share the post further.