•Mehrabian and Russell's stimulus–organism–response framework is employed.•Utilitarian-related stimuli enhance perceived values and positive emotional responses.•Only enjoyment as a hedonic-related stimulus has an impact on affective states.•Perceived value has a greater impact on consumers with a high gadget-loving.•Affective state has a greater impact on consumers with a low gadget-loving. Employing Mehrabian and Russell's stimulus–organism–response framework, this study examines how consumers’ perceived quality of interactive restaurant self-service technology (IRSST) attributes affects their cognitive and affective states and their subsequent behavioral intentions. The survey sample is 568 consumers who had experienced IRSST. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed model and hypotheses. The results revealed that the functionality and customization (utilitarian-related stimuli) of IRSST enhance the consumers’ perceived values and positive emotional responses, whereas its design and enjoyment (hedonic-related stimuli) had neither a fully nor a partially significant impact on their cognitive and affective states. Regarding the moderating role of a gadget-loving propensity, while the perceived value has a greater impact on the approach behavior towards IRSST service for consumers with a high gadget-loving propensity, the affective state has a greater impact on the approach behavior towards IRSST service for consumers with a low gadget-loving propensity.